The Downfall
by spadealice
Summary: "Since you're socially awkward, hmm...I dare you to kiss the most attractive boy in the circle." Ikki dared with a grin. I gulped nervously and then ended up choking from my own saliva. Oh God. AgitoxOC
1. The Royal Clubs

I soared up in the air, thrilled by the feeling of the cool wind brush past against my face. I looked up at the beautiful stunning moon, beaming at me. I was incredible happy which was rare; I guess it was just the feeling of flying up in the air with my ATs. I leapt from one platform to another with rhythm and a slight smile on my face. I suddenly felt chills and a strong force of wind emit from behind, I looked back, but found nothing. I shrugged it off and sped up, only to see the most beautiful thing I've seen in my life.

It was up twenty feet above me, the blurred creature was black, blending perfectly into the obscure background. I saw a hint of something shimmer and I watched as it moved above me with pure amazement. As the shadows slowly disappeared, I saw it take shape into a form of a boy. He was ahead of me and I saw nothing, but his dark blue hair that cascaded down to his neck and with loose straps of his orange jacket thrashing rapidly as he sped up. He was beautiful.

I felt the need to speed up to, maybe to catch a glimpse of this boy who moved so effortlessly. It was as if he was born to fly. I leaned forward, cutting the wind resistance as I went passed him. He went passed me too. After a few moments of our tug-of-war game, I only realized what it was; a race. My heart began to beat faster due to adrenaline. I was beginning to get tired very fast because I had a poor stamina. I could literally feel my energy declining. Fast. Then suddenly, the dark blue-haired boy leapt, twisting, turning, and spinning elegantly in several directions, and then finally landing on the pavement with inaudible sound. I couldn't take the fatigue anymore and I stopped, watching as he flew away.

* * *

><p>I puffed heavily, trying to catch my breath, and finally accelerated after a while. I took my time and rode my ATS slowly, still breathing hard. A sudden realization then came to me, which was related to the boy. During his flight, the time when he was turning… only now did I realize I had made an eye contact with him; his other eye covered with an eye patch. I could have sworn I saw him smirk at <em>me<em>. I saw him flash a playful, taunting smirk, and his golden orb glistened perfectly under the moonlight as he vanished. I shook the thought off and hurried to the spot where I was supposed to meet my team, The Royal Clubs.

"Sorry I'm late…" I mumbled. Everyone turned to me, obvious annoyance written all over their faces.

"Again with the _tardiness_, Masao." Tatsuya, the leader or 'King' growled. I could tell he was mad obviously firstly because of his tone and his face, second, he hated tardiness, especially when it came to group practice/meetings, and third, he was using my full name.

"Sorry." I mumbled again. "Traffic." I blurted out unconsciously. I mentally cursed and slapped myself. Saeki, the 'Jack' burst out laughing.

"Shut up, Saeki." Kao the 'Queen' hissed.

"Whatever, let's just practice." Tatsuya said, only to glare at me the second before he turned.

"'Traffic', huh?" Yuki chuckled. He was known as the 'Joker' in our group. Ironic cause he's not really a funny dude, the funny one is Saeki, the 'Jack.'

Our team was formed a couple of years ago, but we have been active only this year. The first year was more for training and I didn't know why, but everyone just wanted to compete all of a sudden, I guess. Our group, The Royal Clubs, was inspired by a game of cards of course. Our emblem consisted of a Turkish crown in the middle, and a heart, ace, diamond, and clover on each of the four corners. We also named or nicknamed ourselves in different positions. Tatsuya, the King was of course, the leader and the most powerful one of us. During battles, he relied mostly in his strength, confidence, and intimidation, causing others to fear him. Still, he can be compassionate...sometimes. Okay, like maybe once or twice a year. Kao, the Queen was a very sly girl, she's good at tricks, and has the best balance in our team. She's simply flawless and is very flexible to different situations. Saeki, the Jack, I'd say is the most dangerous one because he can find one's weakness easily and is our mechanic. Some people would say he's the 'brain', but he's more than that. He's manipulative and is the most good-looking man (I used to have a huge crush on him before) in the team, though he conceals his cunning side through humor. Saeki is unpredictable and dangerous. Yuki, or better known as the 'Joker' in our group is the all-around type. Whatever he tries, he succeeds in it; you can pretty much say he's a quick learner, not only in ATs, but in school too. He doesn't even try and gets As and shit when I'm just here, studying hard and I get Bs, a few As, and I got a D+ for Math. I'm retarded I know, shh. And then there was one. I'm the 'Ace' and I don't know why I'm called that, exactly. I have a very bad stamina, my tactics aren't that good either, and I have trouble with focusing. In reality, the only thing I rely on is my speed, though I'm not that fast either. I feel bad now. I'm poop compared to my team. Oh the irony of my nickname.

* * *

><p>After a few hours of practice we have finally finished and we were just strolling around the streets, earning a few stares, glares, and whispers from the other people (they think all AT riders are troublemakers and gangster-like) as we walked in one long line, practically blocking the whole way. I peeked and saw Tatsuya with a sneer, Kao with her head held high, Saeki with a goofy grin, and I looked to my right at Yuki, only to find him staring back at me. smiled slightly, quickly lightening up the mood, I nodded with a slight smile.<p>

"Hey, don't you think those girls are hot?" I heard Saeki snigger from my left, I looked from his eyes, and trailed across the direction, I then saw two girls giggling and the other one waving shyly at Saeki.

"Saeki, I don't know. I'm not a lesbian." I said nonchalantly. He looked at me and pinched my left cheek. I groaned and slapped his hand away.

"You're so gullible, Mao." He laughed.

"I'm not—" I started to say, but he already lost his attention and looked away from the girls, only to smirk at them before he did so. I sighed.

We continued to walk and I noticed Tatsuya stop, causing Kao to stop as well, and basically we were like dominoes; a chain reaction.

"Hey, hey, hey…" he mused playfully. This cant be good.

"Look what we have here~" Queen sang.

I narrowed my eyes to see and noticed an emblem that covered ours that was previously on the spot. I saw King smirk mischievously. We approached and study the emblem.

"I see we have a challenger!" He laughed. He had always had that…deep 'scratchy', husky laugh. Like this dog that I used to have but died. NOT LIKE I WANT TATSUYA TO DIE AND I AM COMPARING HIM TO MY DOG AND-wait. What was I talking about? Tatsuya's face suddenly became serious as he slammed his fist onto the wall, causing me to jump a bit at his incredible strength. Maybe if I touch him, his strength will rub off on me.

"When's the battle? Tomorrow?" I asked, causing them to look all at me with a hint of slight shock and amazement. I had always been the quiet one in the group and King helped me a bit and told me that I should talk more.

"I don't know, probably…" Kao muttered. Crap, I have to pee.

"I _hope_ it's tomorrow. I'm beat from practice!" Saeki added as he yawned and stretched his arms.

"What does it say? I can't read it." Queen muttered, referring to the emblem with a text that was hard to read.

"Kogaro—gara…so…maru?" Saeki mumbled with uncertainty. Oh God, is there a bathroom nearby?

"Kogarasumaru." Yuki read confidently.

"'Little Crow…'" I whispered the translation and smiled slightly.

"Hmm…obviously this 'Kogaresomaru' doesn't know who we are." Tatsuya hissed, saying the confusing name with pure disgust and toxicity. "I guess we'll have to put them in their place." He laughed. "We'll just have to wait for tomorrow." He hummed. I don't even understand why he's so competitive.

"You don't have to wait for that long, King." A voice said from the behind, we all turned, and I saw a tall, lanky boy with spiky, black hair. "You don't have to worry, Kogarasumaru is here!" He exclaimed and did a funny pose, and I then noticed his group members appeared slowly from the behind. I sniggered at his odd pose and the fact that his face was all twisted in several directions and his face expression was hilarious. Through the crowd, a pair of the most vigorous golden eyes locked into mine. Then, a boy with dark-blue hair emerged from the group leisurely. Great, now I _really_ have to pee.


	2. A Not-So-Merry Match

It was the boy who flew.

I then noticed that he had changed his shirt and was now wearing an orange parka, with straps, and hooks at the end.

"The Royal Clubs, right?" the team leader approached; the others followed. Tatsuya nodded with a sneer.

"Kogarosomeru." King had said with a hint of welcome and threat at the same time. "I guess you know us already."

"It's 'Kogarasumaru.' The leader said. "Yeah, well, I've done a couple of research…" He blushed and rubbed the back of his head. "OW!" he yelled and looked at the boy with the dark-blue hair who had kicked his rear. He glared at him and turned to us, "I'm just joking, this little troll right here did all the research." He muttered dully. I feel like I was supposed to do something...

"Don't call me a motherfucking troll, you shitty Crow!" The boy growled at him and my eyes widened, wow…a potty-mouth. I did not expect such…colorful profanities come out from his cool blasé attitude.

The leader ignored him and continued to speak. "The name's Ikki. This is Agito" he said as he pointed at the boy, "Buccha" he pointed at a large man, "Kazu" an appealing blonde, "and lastly, Onigiri," he then pointed at a male with a perverted look on his face; he was _literally_ drooling.

"Kyaaa!" Queen shrieked. "He's looking at my legs! That little pervert!" She then attempted to cover her legs with her arms frantically, but it was useless since she was wearing short denim shorts; this only caused the perverted pig to widen his grin. I was wearing pants and plus, I have the sex appeal of a potato so yeah. It was all-good for me.

"Tatsuya, Kao, Saeki, Mao, and Yuki." King announced and pointed at each one of us. I think he thought that it's also good for them to know our names, not just our nicknames. Ikki nodded and smiled happily.

"So, how should we do this?" Ikki asked. "Flip a coin?"

"How about you just pick one from your group to go against one of the members in my team then?" King suggested.

"That sounds fair…" he said slowly. "Okay then, you against me, yeah?"

"Of course." King said like it was the most obvious thing in the world. "Queen." He said with a grave look and looked at the leader. She turned to him with a confused look on her face.

"Buccha." Ikki's face became serious as well, never breaking the contact with Tatsuya.

"What is it, Ikki?" Buccha asked when he heard his name.

"You're playing with Queen." Buccha nodded, he seemed like a pretty nice guy. Woah look at his muscles. I wish I had muscles. I then noticed from the corner of my eye, Onigiri was sulking.

"Joker." King said.

"Kazu." Ikki retorted confidently.

King smirked, "Ace." I gulped and made a retarded face as I was starting to feel something bad; the ones that are only ones that are left are the perverted pig and the boy with the dark-blue hair that somehow scared me in a way. I looked down, avoiding his scary gaze. Oh my, what nice concrete. The man who made this street should receive a gold medal or something because it is simply amazi-

"Agito." My stomach dropped and I wanted to cry on the inside. I would have much rather preferred the pervert.

* * *

><p>After a fight that seemed to last for hours, three had gone; King, Queen, and Jack. We won two, and currently losing one since Saeki can't get past through Onigiri, who covered the whole alleyway and was very distracting. Plus, Saeki was totally beat since he put the most effort in today's practice. I can pretty much conclude that we lost this one and Onigiri was a really good rider too. The thing that amazed me the most was the leader. Even though he lost, (<em>believe<em> me, it was a neck-in-neck battle between him and King) he was still very cheerful and I have never seen King enjoy a match, nor have I ever seen a rider that even came close to beating him. King only lost two matches in his whole life (well, in his 4 years of experience) and came _very_ close to his third tonight. That boy has something in him.

"I don't feel so good about this…" I muttered to Yuki, who was sitting beside me. I was beginning to feel nauseous.

"Why?" He asked.

"Because I don't want to _lose_, Yuki. I-I saw that boy—the one with the eye patch. He... could _fly_. He's better and faster than me." My voice quivered, nothing pisses King off more than a loss and tardiness second.

"Just try your best, but don't push yourself too hard." He smiled. He was referring to my poor stamina.

"I…I think I'm gonna lose." I sighed.

"Mao. You'll be fine." He patted my head and gave me a reassuring smile.

"Yuki, I—"

"Yuki! It's your turn!" Tatsuya yelled.

"Okay, coming in a minute!" Yuki yelled back. He turned to me, "listen, I gotta go, Mao. You'll be fine, trust me." He smiled once more and disappeared, appearing next to King a couple of seconds later. I sighed and looked away. My stomach was churning and twisting wildly, and it was not because of the burrito and the two chalupas I ate earlier.

* * *

><p>I got up and stood right next to Agito. My stomach was churning violently again. I slapped myself lightly with both of my hands at either cheek. I knew it, Saeki lost. I never knew that blonde—Kazu?— had it in him. 'Left, right, left, right' I said in my head while walking; I didn't want to trip myself.<p>

"Ready, Set, …GO!" The referee lady blew the whistle and we flew.

I jumped from one platform to another to save time, but nearly slipped a couple of times, I told you I had a horrible balance. I looked back quickly, he was nowhere in sight. I smiled slightly; maybe I stood a chance against him! I leapt high and the next second, I found myself thrown on the ground, I gasped for air involuntarily. The boy appeared out of nowhere and had a devilish smirk on his pale face, looking down at me. I then noticed a few of my clothes were tattered, probably from the hooks from his jacket. Who the hell would even wear hooks with jackets? Is he some sort of a fisherman? He accelerated and I struggled to get up, my back was aching due to the impact. After half a minute of our chase, I was right next to him.

He spun, causing the hooks to spin as well, I dodged them, but one caught my right arm. He turned to the right, causing me to follow him due to the hook that was stuck on my arm. I struggled to get it off me, but it only caused the hook to deepen, the boy's eyes held mine for what seemed like forever, his eyes screamed with bloodlust, sending shiver throughout my body. He spun once again, now causing several hooks to latch onto my body. He was now dragging my body that was stuck and wrapped around the straps with the hooks deepening by the second. I then suddenly realized something—he was going the wrong way. He was turning in several places, far away from the goal, going back and forth into small, dodgy alleys, instead of going straight to the finish line.

"Give up yet, _Ace_?" He spat. We were in this dark alley, where neither of our team members could see us, and he just stayed around the area, circling and pacing around. I struggled to break free from the hooks and I glared at him, the most deadly one I could give. "Is this the best you can do?" He provoked.

I didn't leave my glare; and so did he. "I don't need to explain to you."

He finally stopped and stood in front of me. I struggled again, my arms and my body were trapped in the straps. "It's no use, you can't escape me." He sneered. "Just say that you give up" he said, "but then… I have no problem in hurting you." His smirk came again and he shifted, causing me to flinch at the pain.

"I'm already losing so why would I say I give up?" I puffed.

"Eh, it's more fun that way." He replied in a sickeningly sweet tone. It felt my arms were going to fall off any soon, but I held back the forming tears. The hooks were probably an inch deep and I could feel my blood pour out violently everywhere. What a waste of blood! I could have donated them. I noticed some of my blood was on his cheek; probably splattered during our violent feud and when he spun a couple of times. He probably noticed that I was staring at his cheek because he wiped it off with the back of his hand, smirked again, and licked it, staring at me as he did so. HOLY SHIT. I was certain he was a sadist. ...Or maybe a vampire. A sadistic vampire? Yes, that sounds just right.

My eyebrows furrowed and my face twisted in disgust. Of all the things I could say to him, I said something utterly retarded: "Let me go." He chuckled. "Dude, you're fucking disgusting."

"You do know that you're gonna lose, right?"

"Well, the last time I checked, I'm covered in my pool of blood and I can barely feel my legs and arms, so umm...yea. I'm definitely going to win." My hobbies include being a sarcastic bitch.

He smirked back and suddenly flew again, causing him to drag me. I could feel my eyes burning and tearing up at the pure agony, it felt like my arms were being ripped apart. The hooks were stuck very deep now and the straps were wrapped tightly so many times caused me to realize something. I knew the fact that escape was the impossible. He finally came up on the roof of the platform and I could see our members hollering at us, he spun once more, but this time, the opposite direction, causing me to fling up in the air, released the hooks, and I landed hard on the pavement, breathing heavily and clutching my ripped up arms. How graceful. He stood, looking down at me with a smug, and I suddenly felt very uncomfortable; like he could see right through me. I looked away uncomfortably. He probably noticed this, and then I suddenly felt…_courage_, and I looked up at him, only regretting it a second later as his golden eye penetrated mine like a layer of paper. His gaze was so intense I felt like I couldn't breathe, like I was drowning in an abyss— paralyzed.

He bent down and stared at me, "you lost." He walked slowly to the goal that was only roughly forty meters away. I struggled to get up as I hobbled towards my group. _Every_ part of my body was exploding with pain and screaming for help.

Still, I couldn't help it. "I want a rematch!" I yelled, though I don't know if he heard it.

* * *

><p><strong>SMACK!<strong> I felt a sharp sting on my cheek and I felt blood trickle down slowly, it was probably a shallow wound from one of the hooks that re-opened. I stayed in that position for a while; I couldn't look at Tatsuya in the eye. I didn't want to. I _couldn't_. I closed my eyes and waited. From the corner of my eye, I could see him turn and walk away as if nothing happened, this was worse. Ignorance is worse than pain. And he knew that. Tatsuya always ignores someone whom he loathes with pure passion. I saw him talking to Ikki. In the end, we won three and lost two.

Yuki then gave me his jacket and wrapped it around me, "come on, you have to get cleaned." He muttered as he stroked a cut; I flinched. I realized that my pants and my shirt were all tattered, exposing a large amount of flesh and luckily they were lower areas. I smiled; Yuki was always the gentleman. There was a time in seventh grade where I thought he was too gentleman-y so I thought he was gay. Maybe he is. If he were, I bet you he'd go for Saeki. I bet a hundred yen on that.

"I can walk, Yuki." I said because I saw him walk in front of me, he squatted, and motioned for me to get on his back. I stood my ground. He groaned and forcefully grabbed me so that he was giving me a piggyback ride; I absentmindedly then made a sound that seemed a lot like a boar's howl, and Yuki chuckled. He walked over to Ikki's group and my grip on his shoulders instantly tightened.

He probably noticed this, so he decided to lighten the mood. "Have you gained weight? A _looott_ of weight?" He joked and I punched his shoulder hard.

"So we won. Now, get lost, Kogarasumaru." Tatsuya snapped. Wow, at least he got it right this time.

"Oh, well…it was worth a try!" Ikki chuckled. How could he still be so happy even though he just lost?

"But I have to admit…" Tatsuya's voice softened slightly, "you were pretty damn good." He smirked. "Never had three wins and two losses in quite some time, actually." It was true. "Good job" he said and offered Ikki a hand. Ikki took it and showed a goofy grin. Why was Tatsuya…happy? Was it because of the good, intense fight? Probably…it's weird how Tatsuya can go from mad as hell and then nice and calm the second after. He's probably bipolar or something.

"You too, it was a great battle!" Ikki exclaimed and they all turned and slowly rode their ATs.

"This Sunday!" I yelled at their direction. One of them stopped. The boy with dark-blue hair turned, looked at me, smirked, and vanished into thin air the second later.

I could have sworn he gave the tiniest nod before vanishing.

* * *

><p><strong>AN: **If you guys want to go straight to the Agito/Akito-Mao relationship thing, **_please skip chapters 3-6 and read chapter 7+_**. Thank you for reading and please comment if it needs suggestions!


	3. Hot Pot

"Sorry for slapping you, Mao." Tatsuya's voice was low and gentle; he did sound sincere.

I smiled, "no, it's okay. I—OW!" I hissed at the end and looked at Kao, who was tending my wounds.

"Well if you've given up early, you wouldn't have had this much gashes." She glared and pressed the cotton with alcohol even deeper, I whimpered weakly.

"That Agito kid sure is violent." Saeki commented.

"Sorry I lost, Tatsuya." I mumbled.

He smiled, "you'll get him next time." He patted my head.

"Yeah…" I haven't told them about my upcoming re-match with him this Sunday.

"There…all done!" Kao finished bandaging and grinned at me.

"Thank you so much, Kao—nee" I smiled gently and hugged her.

"YOU'RE SO CUUUTEE, MAAOO!" Kao squealed, hugged me tighter, and began squirming. Funny how she called me a blobfish yesterday. If you don't know what it is, you should Google it. I find it kinda cute, actually …in a way. Kind of. Slightly. I couldn't breathe because my face was stuck between her two overly large breasts. She finally let go and pinched both of my cheeks. "Ka-wa-ii~!" I sometimes think whether her boobs are real.

"Kao, let go." Tatsuya said softly, Queen pouted, and finally let go.

"What should we do now?" Saeki asked.

"I'm hungry…" I mumbled.

"Hot pot, anyone?" Yuki smirked.

"HOT POOTT!" We all cheered and raced out of our house, well…technically it's Tatsuya's own house. It's kind of our base.

We began cooking our food; we had three pots, Tatsuya had his own, Kao and Saeki shared one, and Yuki and I shared one. I had to admit, I was a bit jealous of Kao. She's really pretty and is really close with Saeki. Oh my godness…that rhymed. I'm Shakespeare, guys.

Then, I heard cheering and ruckus come from behind. I looked and saw the whole Kogarasumaru team, Ikki being at the front with a confident smug on his face.

"Why are we even here?" The blonde, Kazu asked.

"I just came here for free food…" Onigiri said.

"Crow, you did say that you were paying, right?" Buccha asked.

"Yeah, yeah, of course! I'll pay for everyone. My treat." He chuckled and saw our table; he waved excitedly, and took the table next to ours.

"Hey, Ikki." Tatsuya greeted.

"Hey, what are you guys doing here?"

"Eating of course." He said obviously, thus causing Ikki to laugh.

"Hello, sir. Lunch for five? That'll be one thousand yen for each, total of five thousand yen." The waitress beamed.

"No problem," he said as he put his hand in his pocket. "Uh... wait a second." He said and reached for the other pocket, looking for his wallet frantically. I could tell where this was obviously going.

"Fuck, Crow, don't tell me you—" Agito started.

"I LEFT MY WALLET IN MY HOUSE!" He yelled and had the look like he was nearly going to faint. His other members began groaning and cursing.

"Of _course_, you did." Agito sighed, his voice oozing with sarcasm. "That's why I brought mine just in case to avoid us from situations like this." Ikki suddenly recovered and hugged him quickly.

"I knew you were such a lifesaver, you little shit!" Ikki then squealed like a little girl.

"You're going to pay me back though, Crow. Every cent of it." He glared at Ikki. "You know what? I think I'll make it double the original price. Interest." He smirked and Ikki's jaw dropped.

"But-!"

"If you guys want, we can pay for you." Tatsuya offered. "Our treat." He smiled.

"R-really?!" Ikki's composure went back again.

"Yeah, for a great fight and all." Ikki nodded and took a seat in front of Tatsuya; I suddenly realized we had been sitting in one line, one side of the table only. The whole Kogarasumaru team sat in front of us. We ordered more bowls of hot pot, so that there were two for each person. Ikki shared with Tatsuya, Buccha and Onigiri shared one, and Kazu and Agito shared one, and they also sat in front of Yuki and I. I gasped slightly.

"What is it, Mao?" Yuki muttered.

"We're all currently sitting in front of our opponents from last night." I whispered. He chuckled.

"Oh yeah…I didn't notice." There was a huge plate of choices in front of us; all raw, and waiting to be cooked.

After forty minutes of eating, some already stopped eating because they were very full.

"You're so fat." Yuki said as I continued to chow down my food. He was leaning back on the chair and groaning and complaining about his stomach. "How can you eat that much?"

"Sorry, I can't hear you over the sound of these delicious food screaming to be eaten." I mumbled and stuffed more meat in my mouth. There was a time when I was a vegetarian for a month, but then I was like 'fuck it. I love meat', then I had a week where I didn't eat anything else but meat. I reached for the last piece of meat, when suddenly, a pair of chopsticks clashed into mine. I looked up and saw Agito, glaring at me. "Dude. Let go." I warned.

_"She once stabbed me with a fork when I ate her bacon." I heard Saeki mutter. Agito's eyes never left mine and his smirk grew even deeper._

_"I think I'll take my chances." He then pulled the meat, I pulled it back, and he did too._

_"Guys, just let go of the meat." Kazu said tiredly._

_"Agito, be a gentleman and let the girl have it." Said Buccha. Thank you, Buccha._

_"You're a girl…" he started._

_I scoffed, "no shit."_

_"Aren't you supposed to diet or something?" He raised an eyebrow._

_"The word 'diet' isn't in my dictionary." I glared harder. He finally broke contact and scanned my by body up to down. (Well half of my body since I was sitting down.)_

_"I can see that" he smirked. My jaw literally dropped and I felt my cheeks burn with fury._

He took this chance of distraction and grabbed the meat, I jolted upright, causing the whole table to screech at my sudden action, I leaned over the table, and caught the meat with my chopsticks just before it dropped into his mouth. I immediately shoved the meat in my mouth, causing me to accidentally stab my gums with the chopsticks hard for a second, and chewed it vigorously, giving him a glare as I did so. That's right, bitch. Suck it.

"So, Ikki-san—" Tatsuya started.

"-kun is fine" he smiled and turned to all of us, "call me 'Ikki-kun' not –san, yeah?" He grinned once again. He is a very happy male. Tatsuya nodded and had his own conversation with Ikki.

I leaned back and had a smug on my face; I was happy and full.


	4. Knock Out

**3****rd**** POV**

After twenty more minutes, many of the members from the Kogarasumaru and the Royal Clubs began talking with each other. Ikki and Tatsuya mainly talked together, Kazu wasn't much of a speaker, but would talk every now and then. The Fang King, Agito, chose to ignore everyone and was silent for the rest of the time.

Just then, a person came from the behind and closed Mao's eyes.

"Who is it?" she asked as everyone stopped and looked at the guest. No response. The fingers were slender and cold. Mao placed her hands on top of the hands and tried to rip them off, she was successful for a second, but the hands returned to hide her eyes not a second later. Mao sighed, she hated these kinds of games.

She realized that the hands were probably not going to move unless she made a guess, "Umi?" Umi was one of Mao's closest friends from her school, which by the way was an all-girl academy.

The icy hands finally let go and Mao turned to a _stunning_ girl with wavy, brown locks. Her face instantly lightened at the sight of her friend, Rin. Rin is half Japanese and half Spanish and looked very exotic.

"Rin! You're back?!" She got up from her chair and hugged the beautiful, smiling girl. She instantly realized that there were others too and decided to introduce Rin. She turned to the table, "this is my friend, Rin." Rin was Mao's best friend from her old school. Obviously, Mao's friends know who she is, but Mao was specifically introducing her to the Kogarasumaru members.

"Hey," she waved with a friendly smile.

"Umm…" Mao muttered and looked between the table and her friend. "Uh…I think I should tour Rin around. I'll get going then." She informed them and walked with Rin outside the restaurant.

"I didn't know you were back, Rin." Mao said with a hint of sadness.

"Yeah, I didn't either…." Rin laughed.

"You could have called me," Mao muttered.

"Hey, what matters is that I'm back, right?!" She replied excitedly.

"No, get away from me, you traitor." Mao joked and walked faster. Rin glared from the behind and smirked. She drew her arm and aimed for her shoulder, but then, Mao turned to her, thus causing Rin to punch Mao's boob.

Mao instantly grabbed her chest, gasped, and hurled in pure agony. Rin's jaw fell and her eyes widened. Getting hit on the boob was one of the most painful things a woman could ever experience in her life and Rin knew that.

"Holy crap," she sputtered. She was shocked and laughing at the same time.

Mao shot daggers at her friend. Of all the things she could say, of course, she blurted out something utterly retarded, "you punched me in the boob!" she yelled.

"No shit." Rin was still laughing like a madman.

"You punched my _smaller_ boob, too! My boobs are already flat and now, they're not going to grow all because of you, woman!" Mao was a completely different person with her best friend.

Rin walked closer at Mao, who was on the floor, clutching her chest. Rin smirked, "do you want me to make them even, then?" She laughed again and Mao's mouth fell open widely.

"You bitch." Mao hissed.

Her laugh dropped, "get up." She groaned impatiently.

"No." She was now curled up in a ball, her arms wrapped around her legs, and her head faced down.

"Come on, I know a good place." Rin waited for a few seconds; no response and she groaned. Rin grabbed Mao's arm roughly and pulled her up. Mao watched as she stumbled to get up and follow her pace, then, Rin's hand on Mao's arm loosened as her hand glided smoothly towards Mao's hand, to where she clutched it gently.

* * *

><p><strong>While at the restaurant…<strong>

Ikki burped loudly and rubbed his stomach. An hour had passed and the conversations were dead—nothing more to talk about.

"That awkward moment when the conversation dies…" Saeki muttered.

"So…what do you guys want to do now?" Buccha asked.

"I want to go home and sleep." Onigiri yawned.

"Same." Kazu muttered.

"How about we play a game?" Tatsuya asked.

"Nah. How about we hit the arcade?" Ikki smiled, the others did too.

"Arcade it is!" Onigiri cheered and got up, the others followed. Kao closed her eyes and sighed.

"Boys." She muttered.

* * *

><p>"NO! You press X and then the square twice, while holding the left, and press the triangle for a combo!" Ikki groaned as he explained for the fifth time on how to play the game.<p>

"What? Square—triangle—what—?" Kao sputtered as she looked at the buttons and tried to follow what Ikki said, but she couldn't simply remember all those things. Kazu, Kao's current opponent was smirking—it was going to be an easy win.

"X…SQUARE…SQUARE—good move there—LEFT, and then TRIANGLE." Ikki spoke slowly and enunciated every word, like she was an elementary kid.

"X…square…square…left…" Kao mumbled lwoly as she pressed the buttons, "triangle…—where's the triangle?—oh no, I found it." She laughed sheepishly.

"No, you have to press them quickly! You're doing—"

"You know what? You're not helping! Go play with Tatsuya or something!" Kao hissed, not turning to him as her gaze was concentrated hard on the screen. She was tired of Ikki coaching her, even when she didn't ask for it. She then saw Ikki walk away from the corner of her eye. The others were all around the arcade, leaving Kazu and Kao to have a one-on-one match.

Kao squeaked lightly when her character was knocked down by Kazu's.

"Get up! Get up!" She yelled as she pressed the up buttons violently. Kazu chuckled. Kao knew she was going to lose and then, a thought came to her. Kao quickly cracked her fingers, wasting the least time as possible, and then started pulverizing the buttons violently; her penetrating gaze was fixed—hard— on the screen and she was hitting Kazu with her elbow, who was sitting right next to her.

"Woah. How did you do that?" Kazu asked, stunned when an incredible combo knocked down his character. Kao didn't answer, but sang happily within.

After half a minute, Kao was really into the game. She was brutally pressing—more like hammering—the buttons to the extent that they were going to break any time soon. She would thrash, yell at her character, and her eyes never left the screen; her face was only inches away. Kao's fingers were beginning to get tired, but she wasn't going to give up.

With one last press of a button, Kao's character knocked Kazu's over the edge of the screen. The word 'KNOCK OUT' appeared on the screen as Kao's character did a pose at the win. Kao's eyes grew and she squealed.

"I won!"

"I know," Kazu smiled, he was quite sad, but was happy for her win. "How did you do those things though?" Kazu asked seriously. The girl had talent.

_By pressing random buttons._ "I guess I'm a natural." The highly attractive girl smirked at the blonde.

"Seriously?" Kazu asked, very impressed.

"Seriously."

"Well then, it was a great match. We should play again some time." The blonde smiled and held out his hand. Kao smiled too and took his pale hand, and then suddenly, Kao felt something that she didn't understand; sparks.


	5. Rin and Shopping

**Mao's POV**

I got up from the bed and headed for the bathroom. I washed my face and brushed my teeth. Then, I did something I never thought I would. I stared at the mirror and looked at myself.

All I could say is that I looked _plain_. I wasn't pretty like Rin or Kao. I narrowed my eyes, figuring it was a horrible idea a second later due to my large and dark eye bags. My eyes were chestnut-colored, my cheeks were round and full, and my lips were painfully pale and chapped. My skin also wasn't good; lots of blackheads, and my nose just looked awkward. I then saw two huge-ass pimples on the top left of my forehead that were previously covered by my bangs. My black, layered hair was medium length and is always frizzy after I shower; I'd look like a rat. I wasn't exactly as skinny as Rin too; I'm 5'4 and I weigh 132 pounds, while Rin's 5'7 and is 116 lbs. Though I don't care as much about my image, still, a part of me couldn't stop pointing out my flaws. After all, I _am_ a girl. I sighed and treaded downstairs, still groggy.

"Morning." Yuki greeted.

"Hn." Everyone in the house knew that I wasn't a morning person, I hate talking early in the morning (but I have to get up early because Tatsuya says so), and I get cranky sometimes. The others weren't here yet.

"How was your sleep?" Yuki asked as he sipped his drink, probably coffee. I glared at him and gave him the I-don't-want-to-talk-right-now kind of look.

"So, what did you do with Rin yesterday?" Yuki smirked, obviously pissing me off even more.

"I'm so tired," I groaned and rested my left cheek on the cool marble table. I stared up at Yuki.

"Good morning," I heard Tatsuya greet from the behind.

"Morning." Yuki greeted back.

I heard the phone ring and then my name was called a second later. I went upstairs and Kao, who recently woke up as well, handed the phone to me.

"Hello?" I asked.

"Hey," my face instantly brightened, it was Rin. "Get out."

"What?"

"Get out of your house." She ordered

"Uhh…"

"I'm outside the gate." I could hear her slight annoyance.

"But how did you—"

"Saeki."

"Oh."

"Get out. Now." Her voice was hard.

"Uh…where are we going this early in the morning?"

I heard her chuckle lightly "Come on bitch, we're going shopping."

* * *

><p>"I can't believe I'm actually here." I muttered.<p>

"Well, it was either you stay in the house doing nothing," she said, watching the road carefully as she drove, "or you come with me. Plus, I'm pretty good at persuading someone." She turned to me and smirked.

"Rin, slow down!" I warned. She was going nearly 70 miles per hour.

"Why?" She taunted and swerved suddenly to the left.

"Rin, stop! _Please_!" I pleaded. She was seriously scaring me.

"Sorry." She apologized, slowed down, and I exhaled. The conversation soon became quiet, so I decided to lead it on.

"Oh hey, are you and Toru still going out?" It must have been two months ago when Rin told me she found someone new—Toru.

She scoffed, "_Toru_?" She spat his name with such repulsion.

"Why? What happened?" Rin has always been good with the opposite gender ever since middle school, but I never knew one would last this quick. She was always the pretty one and I've always been the awkward duck. Hell, during English class, when my crush asked me if I could pass the tape to him, I ended up _literally_ stuttering like crazy and was tearing up because of his beautiful face. He was like some sort of God that radiated his effervescent beauty to all the peasants like me and my eyes were unworthy of even looking at him…so I ended up tearing up because he was so beautiful. That boy will have beautiful babies. I know it.

"Douche." Rin's reply snapped me off from my thoughts.

"Ahh…" I nodded slowly and she suddenly swerved to the right. I sometimes wonder how the hell she got her license. She parked in a nearby lot, unbuckled her seatbelt, got out of the car, and I followed.

* * *

><p>"I am not trying <em>that<em>." I simply said.

"Oh come on, Mao. It's ka-wa-ii~" She did a peace sign and grinned.

"Dude no."

"Come on! I bet when Saeki sees you, he'd—"

"_HELL_ NO!" I yelled and blushed madly.

"You know you want to," she raised her eyebrows up and down repeatedly.

I scoffed and looked at the clothing. It was a mini tight dress that would hug every curve of a girl's body. It was deep violet, tight, and small, with a few laces here and there. That's right—skanky. "Why don't _you_ try it?" I joked. Clearly she doesn't understand sarcasm.

Her eyes lit up, "that's a great idea!" She grabbed the hanger and rushed to the fitting room. I sighed as I was getting tired walking around the mall. I sat down on a nearby chair and saw a bunch of sneakers right next to me.

I picked one up. It was a simple black-and-white Vans and tried it on. Luckily, it was size 7, so I didn't have to ask the lady for my size. I turned my foot and stared at it, I nodded in my head; it looked really nice. Plus, my old shoes were worn out and I have always wanted to buy a new one. I was currently wearing Vans and it was funny because they're the same type, one is just worn out and old, while the other one is new. I took off the shoe and put my old shoe on. I grabbed the new one, reminding myself to buy it later.

Just then, Rin violently ripped the curtains and greeted me with a grin.

"So, how do I look?" She did a full turn.

I smiled sweetly, "like a slut."

She gasped, "really?! I'll buy it!" My sarcastic smile dropped and my face turned serious.

"Rin, don't buy it." I locked eyes with her.

"Why not? It looks nice on me." She said and eyed the clothing.

"Rin." I simply said her name and she nodded slowly after a few seconds. I didn't want her to be dressed in _that_ as perverted guys drool over her. It would be as if she wants everybody to see her body and it's degrading herself. The thing is, Rin is actually really smart and is beautiful already, and she doesn't need to show herself in a cheap manner.

"How about this?" I asked and picked a nearly dress that was on the rack.

The dress was baby blue, almost white. It was knee-length and very loose, with a ribbon at the back of the waist. It was the kind of dress you would wear casually or at beach in summer time.

"It looks like church clothes," she laughed. I blinked and she sighed. She analyzed it at first and a smiled appeared on her face. "I'm only buying it because you picked it for me." She said as we walked to the counter to pay. Rin and I have very different styles. I like darker colors, mainly graphic tees, Vans, and band tees while she liked chic, colorful, and girly ones. Funny, huh?

"Are we done, now?" I asked. I looked at my cell phone for the time and realized it had been two and a half hours now.

She grinned mischievously, "of course not, silly!" After paying, she grabbed my hand and dragged me into a new store. She then giggled at the sound of me groaning. I closed my eyes and sighed.

Out of nowhere, the memory then came to me suddenly like a cold slap in the face. It was going to finally happen. Tomorrow. Just _one_ more day until my re-match with Agito.


	6. Kazu and Tea

**A/N:** Sorry for the really long delay on chapters! I have been very busy with IB and my other stories too (though I am not planning on publishing them since they still have lots to work on). Thank you THANK YOU for the reviews and please comment on my story, like improvements or some suggestions on future chapters! Happy holidays, everyone! Also, everyone will be around 17-19 years old in this story!

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><p>Well, today was the day that was supposedly Agito and I's rematch but since I didn't think, I had no idea where nor what time we were going to battle again. Well this sucks. …More than vacuums. Get it? AHAHHAA I'm so funny I should just marry myself and have seven cats.<p>

I walked along the street with Kao, looking for interesting things that catch our eye since everybody else was busy and, really, I didn't have many friends.

"Do you want to get a cupcake?" She asked when she noticed a nearby cupcake shop.

"Sure." I said and we entered the bakery. I inhaled the sweet aroma and smiled slightly.

"Good afternoon! What would you like?" The register man asked.

We looked at the menu on the wall, "can I get a red velvet with vanilla dressing?" Kao said to the man.

"Can I get the cookies and cream-flavored cupcake?"

"Of course, that'll be five twenty-five." The register man said as the lady right next to him went back to the kitchen, probably preparing the cupcakes we ordered. We paid and sat down on a table.

I took a sip of my water, "so, are you going to have a re-match with that Agito kid?" Kao asked nonchalantly and I could have sworn I nearly spat my water all over her perfect face. She began twiddling a part of her hair with her index finger and didn't leave her gaze on me.

I cleared my throat, "I don't know what you're talking about." Play it cool, man. _Cool_.

She gave me a confused face, "don't you usually demand a re-match with, like, all the people that beat you before?"

"Well, if you put it that way it's not like—"

"So when is it? Today?"

"Kao, make n—"

"You gotta go soon though, Tatsuya's probably gonna like, call some group meeting or something." I sighed in defeat. "So I was right? It's today?" I nodded. Her firm lips curved into a disturbing smile. "So when are you going to meet?"

"I don't know, I didn't plan the err…re-match well." I drifted my attention anywhere—everywhere—but Kao.

"I have Kazu's number, I can ask him where Agito is." She suggested coolly with a shrug.

I inhaled, prepared to say something but I sopped midway because I heard something that caught my attention, "you have _Kazu's_ number?" Now _my_ mouth curved into a smile.

She snapped out from her composed façade and hid a blush. She probably didn't think it was such a big deal and now that I put it that way, it _did_ sound like it was a big deal and that Kazu and Kao were quite…something. "Yeah well, you know…for, like…"

I smiled, "it's okay you don't have to explain to me." I noticed her shoulders drop and she heaved a sigh.

"Thanks."

"No prob, so could you call Kazu?"

"Oh sure," she said and pulled out her phone.

"One red velvet with vanilla dressing and one cookies and cream-flavored cupcake. Thank you very much and enjoy your meal," the waitress said and placed our order on the table.

"Thanks!" I said as I picked mine up and watched Kao talk to Kazu on her phone.

"Yeah, hey Kazu…yeah okay…can Mao meet Agito? It's _really_ important…oh I see…no, no it's okay, where are you?...Please? Just for a minute, I promise. Okay, okay, thanks! See you! Bye." Kao's smile dropped.

"So what did he say?" My voice was slightly muffled from the last bite of the cupcake (it's amazing how much food I can eat and how fast I can eat it too; I have the body of a God, guys. Buddha to be exact.)

"He said Agito's kinda like, busy but I pleaded if we could meet Kazu instead then just for a little bit and he said that it's fine." She then began eating her cupcake. "While I distract Kazu, you can talk to the Agito kid." She smirked.

"Oh…maybe we shouldn't go? I wouldn't want to disturb them."

"Don't be stilly, Mao. At least let's visit Kazu, if the Agito kid's busy then okay, whatever." She huffed.

"Ah okay. Where are they?"

I waited for her to finish her food, "he said they're in Ikki's house, he gave me the address. I think it's just Kazu and Agito though, Kazu didn't really say anything else about Buccha… or the horny guy." We shuddered at the thought.

I waited for a few seconds to regain my composure, "let's go then," I said.

* * *

><p><strong>*DING DONG<strong>* No answer. ***DING DONG*** No answer. "Maybe we should come back some other time," I suggested.

"Don't be silly, Mao!" She laughed and walked over to ring the doorbell; I took a step back. ***DINGDONGDDIIDINGDONGDIINGDON G***

Panic shot across face. "Dude you'll break their doorbell!"

"It's alright. I can pay for it or something." I sighed.

"Maybe if we-" My thought was interrupted at the sound of the door that burst out open that revealed a handsome young man.

"Kao," Kazu answered, delight in his voice. He turned his gaze and he smiled at me, "hi, Mao, right?"

"Yeah, hello to you too," I returned the smile.

"Come on in," he said and opened the door wide, "Agito…he uh…he's kinda busy so please don't go upstairs." He chuckled awkwardly and we entered.

I looked around and I had to admit, Ikki's house was appealing. It wasn't the over-the-top kind, but it was relaxing and had some sort of 'home-y' feeling to it. I smelled something really good from the kitchen and we followed Kazu, who lead us the way to the living room.

"So, where's Ikki?" Kao asked as she plopped down on the couch and looked around the area. I sat right next to her.

"He's getting groceries," Kazu replied. He seemed like the really quiet guy. "Would you ladies want something to drink? Coffee? Tea?"

"Can I have green tea, please?" Kao said. "Thanks!" Kazu turned to me.

"No, thank you" I said.

He smiled again, "I'll be back in a minute." Kao leaned over to me and looked me straight in the eye.

"Now's the time. Go upstairs and go talk to that kid and I'll hold Kazu up." I don't understand why Kao calls Agito 'that kid', I mean, he can't be more than eighteen or nineteen and Kao's only a bit older than me.

"What if he _is_ busy and doesn't want to be disturbed?"

"Well, I don't know. Just try or something."

"OR what if he's doing something…private…" I muttered in thought.

"Oh you mean jacking off?"

"WHAT?!" I burst and Kao quickly covered my mouth with her hands.

"SHHH!" She warned.

"I didn't mean it that way! I meant something like private…you know, well I don't know I can't think of anything right now but you know what I mean. Studying or showering, I don't know dude."

"Go now, Kazu will be back soon!" She hissed and pushed me off the couch. I sighed.

"I'll be back in five to eight minutes." I told her. I walked over to the staircase and looked back, "thanks, Kao-nee," I smiled sweetly and went upstairs quietly.

I looked to my right and noticed a door at the very end. That was probably his room. Oh well, why not give it a try? I cleared my throat as I walked and opened the door.

My body froze at the sight. Oh. My. God.


	7. The Exorcism of Agito's Inner Demon

**A/N:** Thank you for all the reviews and if you have any suggestions or things YOU want to see happen in the future chapters, just inbox me or include it in a review! I am hoping to publish more chapters in the near future so please bear with me and my stupid writer's block!

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><p>There laid Agito on the floor, covered with the hooks of his orange parka like a cat that's trapped from a yarn. His shirt was slightly tattered from the hooks that revealed such pale skin. Hmm…he has great skin, I wonder what kind of moisturizer he uses. He looked at me with striking doe eyes as he struggled between the straps.<p>

"Umm…" he started, blushing a bit. Something was wrong. Something was _horribly_ wrong. Agito never stammered nor had those huge doe eyes, well, eye because he has some eyepatch. I wonder why he's wearing one; I bet someone stabbed him in the eye because he was being a douche. Hell, he has such terrifying eyes that'd cause me to pee myself or something, though I'd never admit that obviously. I couldn't shake the sight of Agito looking all innocent and...not intimidating.

What? Did I miss something? Has someone finally exorcised the demon from Agito's body? Damn, that would have been a sight to see. "Err…could you help me?" He asked nicely. I snapped out of my thoughts and came closer. I stopped. What if this was a trap. What if I bent down and he snaps my neck because he's a total sadistic psychopath that loves blood. He looked up and I swore I nearly fell flat on my butt. The sickeningly sweet look on his face, that huge innocent look, and the slight pout made him look almost…like a kid. I didn't know what was happening, if this was a trap or not, but I chose to ignore it and helped him anyways, though on the inside, I was praying he wouldn't kill me after this because I still need to be alive since I'm going to my favorite band's concert next month; the band is called 'The Gazette'.

"Are you okay?" I asked cautiously and slowly, preparing myself for the attack.

He sighed in relief with a smile when he shook off the straps, "thank you so much for your help!" I didn't know whether to smile or be freaked out. Agito probably noticed my discomfort and continues, "you're Mao right?"

"…Yes…" I replied with slight fear, hoping it didn't show. He was being too nice.

He smiled again which caused my stomach to churn; he was being so creepy and weird! "What brings you here?" He asks, standing up.

"Yeah, technically we're supposed to have a battle today but I forgot to set the date and the place so yeah; I'm here for the re-match."

He walked to the drawer and pulled a dark green t-shirt, he turns to me, "sorry, do you mind?"

"…Oh! Uh…no of course not, sorry." I reacted awkwardly after realizing that he had to change his shirt. He came back and sat right in his old position, crossing his legs. I moved back a bit, increasing the distance between us just in case he changes his mind and lashes onto me.

"Oh…Agito, huh?" Agito thought, scratching his chin. "He does quite a lot of things during nighttime and he'll be busy tonight and today as well so I can't be sure that you guys can have your re-match today. I'm sorry."

"I don't know why we're speaking in the third person but okay, I understand. Maybe some other time then." I said quickly.

He gasped slightly, "oh, you don't know?"

"Know what?"

His lips curved into a half smirk, "_I'm_ Akito and _he's _Agito."

"Who's Agito what? Oh, he's your identical brother then? So that's why you guys were—"

He shook his head in a disapproving manner, he inhaled, "well, I have a split personality." Someone punch this crazy dude. "Do you see this?" He pointed at his eyepatch, "when it's covering my right eye—like right now—I am Akito, but if I switch the eyepatch to the left so the right eye is exposed, I am Agito." I slowly ooked away. "Don't do that."

"Don't do what?" I asked in my defense. I wasn't doing anything!

"Looking at me like I'm crazy or something," he muttered with a hint of sadness. Technically I wasn't looking at him, but okay, sure.

"I don't…think you're crazy," I nearly choked as I forced those words to come out.

He sighed, "no, it's fine. That's the reaction I usually get anyways." He hugged his knees and looked away, desolation written all over his face. I inhaled, maybe he was telling the truth? I know split personality disorders exist, but I just…never realized. It must have been hard...living with an ass like Agito. Sigh.

I bit my lip, "I'm sorry Agi—Akito. I was being such a dick and I'm sorry." He looked at me with such hopefulness in his eye and after a few seconds, he gave me a reassuring smile.

* * *

><p><strong>KAO'S POV<strong>

"Sorry for the wait, I couldn't find the green tea!" I heard Kazu's voice from behind. He placed the tray on the coffee table and sat down.

"It's fine, I wasn't really doing much anyways," I exhaled and put my iPhone back in my bag. I really need to get the iPhone 5…and clean my nails.

"Wait, where's Mao?" Kazu sat up from his chair, panic in his face.

"She went to the bathroom." Of course. The easiest and lamest lie in the book.

"Oh, okay" Kazu sighed and laid backwards on the couch, relaxing.

"Why? What's so important? It's like you're hiding something or something." Are they hiding drugs or something? No, that can't be it. Neither of them look like they take drugs, well, maybe the perverted one does. Gets himself high all the time because no one likes him. Creepy perv.

"No...nothing." I groaned slightly at his quietness.

* * *

><p>We talked a bit, watched TV, and after a while, the atmosphere was silent like a mime or something. What? I'm not very good with finding similes.<p>

"Wow, your friend is _suuureely_ taking a long time," Kazu rolled his eyes.

"Yeah well you know, girl problems." Another old, rusty lie in the book.

It was quiet again. There was absolutely NOTHING to do in the dining rom. It was boring as hell. I think he figured out the boredom as well and decided to change something up, "hey, wanna go to my room? Games—"

"Yes." I replied without any hesitation, which earned a cute blush from Kazu. Anything to get out of the dining room.

"…are the best, I have a lot, especially board games and I can show you my stuff." He finished his sentence awkwardly and got up, chuckling a bit. "I guess you really wanna play board games, then." Yeah, sure…_board_ games. I smirked.

"I can't wait." I tried to hold my laugh from the double meaning of games. The innocent boy didn't notice the innuendo, or if he did, he was an excellent actor.

"Wait, what about Mao?"

"Don't worry, she'll find us or something." He nodded and I followed him upstairs.

* * *

><p><strong>Chapter Eight: Sneak Peak<strong>

"Come on, please? Just let me see it!" Akito urged.

"Hell no dude, it's embarrassing!" I jogged away, hiding the thing away from him.

"Just a tiny, _tiny_ peek, I promise I won't laugh!" Akito repeated again and again, looking over my shoulder to get a glimpse of it. His chest shoving my back and his wildly flailing arms from his desperation were causing me to be imbalanced; I wobbled.

"NO, AKITO-STO- " And with one hard sudden shove, I felt my stomach churn wildly as I felt myself fall on Akito's sofa, with him following on top of me. I squeaked at the sight of the purple leather...slowly increasing in size. It felt unreal. I was going to get squished and die. I haven't even met Ruki yet! To die not meeting my favorite band, how said is THAT?

I crashed on the sofa, face first, followed by a ton of weight that smashed onto my back roughly, nearly injuring my ribs. Face plant.

"AHA! I got it! Now let's see what your little _secret_ is...hehe." I heard Akito menacingly sang, feeling the vibration of his voice on my back. Oh God. WHY ME.

Out of nowhere, I heard the door creak open, "...Oh. I'm so sorry, I didn't know you guys were uhh..._busy_. Mao, I'm going ahead. You guys can..._continue_." I heard Kao's petrified voice and then the sudden slam of the door. Kill me now. I stayed in the face plant position, anticipating my death from lack of oxygen.


	8. Cellphones and Misconceptions

**A/N:** I apologize if this chapter is SUPER boring (I think it is). It's just so that you guys get to know Mao's character more and her past stories!

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><p><strong>30 minutes later…<strong>

"You know, Mao, you're pretty nice." Akito said in a 'holy-crap-I-just-realized' kind of tone. I scoffed.

"Why, thank you." I replied sarcastically. "You're not half-bad yourself." He smiled and shifted his position.

"I don't really know you that well. Since we're here, do you wanna…_talk_? I pursed my lips in discomfort. Oh God. Talking. People. Awkward. Can't.

"…Sure." I managed to utter. I was never really social and I only have like five friends. I don't really understand how Akito can be quite feminine while Agito is this beast. Ironic, isn't it? He smiled.

"I like getting to know people." He said in a humble tone with a slight blush. Yeah, well I never really liked people. Especially talking to new ones as I tend to only embarrass myself.

"So how do you wanna do this? You're just gonna ask me questions? 'Cause that's kinda awkward." I stretched my neck; we've been sitting on the floor for a little over half an hour and I don't understand why we're not sitting on his couch.

"I guess? Hmm…" he pondered, his lips slightly pointing to the left. "Let's start with something easy; how old are you?"

"Seventeen, yourself?"

"Same. What do you hate?"

I thought for a moment and swallowed hard, thus causing me to choke a bit from my saliva. Great, I just nearly killed myself. Scumbag body. "Well, I hate Math. I don't understand _shit_ in class. Uh…I don't like carrots and cucumbers… and hypocrites." I nodded slowly, finding this conversation weird—how he's just asking me questions, it's like being interviewed for a job. I felt bad for him because he had to think of questions while I just had to wait so I gulped and did something that I never thought I would do in my entire life—_socialize_. "Do…do you like pizza?" He slightly flinched, taken back by my question.

He chortled a bit, "yes I do, who doesn't?!" I exhaled; that went better than expected.

"What was an embarrassing moment that you had?" He asked after a few seconds of thought.

"'An embarrassing moment, huh?' Well, I naturally embarrass myself everyday. 'There was a time when Kao and Rin, who is a close friend whom you have seen from the restaurant, and I went to some resort beach. We then saw a two—" I stopped myself, realizing I had been talking too much and his attention was probably lost.

I don't know why, but people tend to always get bored of me. My chest felt tight. But this time… it was different. Akito stared at me with a smile, fully engaged and focused into my story; I smiled within and continued. "Well, there were two really cute guys and they were walking by opposite of our direction, but when they were close, I _literally_ forgot how to walk! Dude, like, I literally stood there—frozen, admiring their presence and I found myself tearing up because they were just _that_ damn striking. My eyes were unworthy of their beauty." Akito's hearty burst of laugher echoed within the room and he bumped the back of his head on the dresser. It's not even that funny.

"Oh my goodness, I—!" he started laughing hysterically again. He waited for a few moments to calm down, "okay, okay, I'm good." He breathed and regained his calmness. "So, what happened next?" He grinned and inched closer to me.

"To me, my friends, or the dudes?"

He shrugged, "either."

"Well, the dude that I had eye-contact with raised his eyebrow, probably thinking I was a freak. Then, I forgot which foot was left and right because I was dazed by their beauty, so I ended up tripping myself after they left so uhh…yeah, it could have been worse. Kao and Rin were laughing like mad." I'm awkward as hell. Akito laughed again; after around forty minutes, I have been quite fond of his laugh. It was…nice.

* * *

><p>After a while, Akito cleared his throat. "Oh so Mao, you're straight?"<p>

I had to do a double take; did he think I was a lesbo? NOT THAT THERE'S ANYTHING WRONG with being one because I think lesbians are really cool, well not that I'd know them because I don't really know lesbians and I'm not one and—oh god. I'm blabbing on again. Wait…what was I talking about? …Oh yeah, lesbians. Okay. Got it. "Yes, I'm straight…I guess?" I was never fond of labels.

"Oh, sorry. I thought you were a lesbian because of the way you dress and your attitude." He commented slowly, probably trying not to sound offensive.

I looked down at my clothes, "why? What's wrong with them?"

"No! Nothing's wrong! It's just that…that…you're wearing a sleeveless band shirt, jeans, _Vans_, and you talk kind of like a man."

"So you're saying I have a deep voice." I summarized flatly.

"NO! I meant—I meant that you—" Akito gesticulated and panicked. I burst out laughing.

"Nah dude, sorry, I was just fucking with you, man." I laughed; I like to goof around and play with people. It was weird how Akito's company was quite pleasant, usually I don't like people I don't know well. Odd.

"See? See?! You just did it again!" He snapped and pointed at me accusingly.

"Did what again?" I asked innocently.

"Talked like you're a boy!" The anxious look on his face made him looked ten.

"Oh, because I say 'dude' and 'man' a lot? Yeah, I do that a lot. Bad habit, sorry." He seemed to calm down and his gentle features returned.

He calmed down. "Sorry, it's just that you seem tomboy-ish and I just assumed. Plus, I thought you and Kao were…too _close_." He tilted his head down.

"Oh no, don't apologize! It's totally fine. No worries."

He snapped his head up, "really? Thank goodness I thought you were going to be mad at me." He slightly pouted.

"Why would I be mad at you? You're cool." His eye twinkled and he grinned. My heart was beating quite fast at the success of the conversation. 'Don't screw it, Mao!' I told myself. 'Be cool and don't embarrass yourself.' Jesus Christ, talking to people is hard. How do people do this easily? The conversation died.

"Thank you!" He blushed after a few seconds. There was nothing else to talk about.

"Oh and about Kao and I, she's like my sister, don't silly." I chuckled, remembering a slogan that I read before: 'Don't be silly, wrap your willy.' I think it was an advert for condoms—NOT LIKE I WAS IN SOME PORN MAGAZINE OR SOMETHING OH GOD HELL NO DUDE. IT WASN'T LIKE THAT I SWEAR TO GOD I JUST READ IT RANDOMLY ON THE INTERNET AND—

Out of nowhere, I felt a buzz in my pocket and I jumped. I realized I've been going into a mini internal rant again. Horrid habit. I took my phone out.

"Sorry, just a text." I didn't look at the sender nor read the text because I find being on your phone while talking to others is rude, so I just pressed some buttons to make it shut up.

He looked at my phone, "can I see it?"

"My phone?"

"Yeah, it looks…really nice."

"Uhh…sure, I guess." I handed the phone to him. He studied the phone, tracing the lines and curves, smiling and frowning every now and then. He clicked the home button and I saw him slide his index finger. I then heard the noise that the iPhone makes whenever it's been unlocked. Crap. I watched him eagerly as he went through my phone, my hands getting clammy. I was sweating like a sinner in church. Technically, there was nothing really important nor private, just some retarded photos of me during the—my eyes widened at the sudden realization.

"Can I see my phone quickly? I just want to check something, sorry." I lied. Technically, it was a white lie. I wanted to check if the embarrassing photos of me during the Christmas party were still in there.

He slowly showed me an evil grin, "you're hiding something, aren't you?" He wiggled his eyebrows up and down.

"No I'm not." I said too quickly. My hands were sweating like crazy now. Stupid hereditary genes. Thanks a lot, dad.

He shook his head in delight with a sinister smile, "let's see…" he said, sliding his index finger.

"Dude, you're not—" I bent over and hastily snatched my phone away from him, catching Akito off guard.

"Come on, please? Just let me see it!" Akito urged.

"Hell no dude, it's embarrassing!" I jogged away, hiding the thing away from him.

"Just a tiny, _tiny_ peek, I promise I won't laugh!" Akito repeated again and again, looking over my shoulder to get a glimpse of it. His chest shoving my back and his wildly flailing arms from his desperation were causing me to be imbalanced; I wobbled.

"NO, AKITO-STO- " And with one hard sudden shove, I felt my stomach churn wildly as I felt myself fall on Akito's sofa, with him following on top of me. I squeaked at the sight of the purple leather...slowly increasing in size. It felt unreal. I was going to get squished and die. I haven't even met Ruki yet! To die not meeting my favorite band, how said is THAT?

I crashed on the sofa, face first, followed by a ton of weight that smashed onto my back roughly, nearly injuring my ribs. Face plant.

"AHA! I got it! Now let's see what your little _secret_ is...hehe." I heard Akito sang menacingly, feeling the vibration of his voice on my back. Oh God. WHY ME.

Out of nowhere, I heard the door creak open, "...Oh. I'm so sorry, I didn't know you guys were uhh..._busy_. Mao, I'm going ahead. You guys can..._continue_." I heard Kao's petrified voice and then the sudden slam of the door. Kill me now. I stayed in the face plant position, anticipating my death from lack of oxygen.

"Err…Mao?" Akito asked as I felt him get off of me. I ignored him stayed still, mentally cursing myself for having a short breath. "Please don't die in my room." He said in a worried tone. Thanks, Akito. You're such a pal. I groaned and slowly got off his couch.

* * *

><p>"I should get going now, sorry for the trouble." I scratched the back of my head.<p>

He stretched his arm, giving me my phone with a frown, "I promise I didn't look at your stuff, it was meant to be a joke and sorry for falling on you." He was giving me the puppy dog eyes.

I had always been weak when it came to the puppy eyes, I smiled, "no it's fine! It's not that private anyways and thanks for having me over. Well…I kinda forced myself in your room, same thing but yeah, you get my point. You're not heavy either, hell, I'm probably heavier than you." My hands stopped sweating. Finally. "If you really wanna know, they're just some stupid photos of me looking like a retard with my friends."

I took my phone from his hand, "Ahh, I see, sorry again! Oh and don't worry about it, you should visit some other time. About your match with Agito, I'll talk to him about it." He smiled again. How is he going to do that? Talk to himself? That's funny. "That reminds me, you should hang out with us! We're going to see The Gazette in Funabashi, it'll—"

"Holy crap are you serious?!" I squealed without thinking and I suddenly clamped my mouth shut with my hands. I can't believe I just did that. Akito simply looked surprised.

"Yes, it's tomorrow. The whole team is going."

"Dude The Gazette is my _favorite_ band!" I was breathing unevenly now. I don't know why but I always get excited when it comes to bands, like the fangirl I am. 'Aww yissss, my husbands will finally know I exist!' I thought. I LOVE post-hardcore, metalcore, and alternative rock bands so much more than I love myself. I don't even like myself. I'm basically like poop compared to my other friends. Poop is a funny word…hehe. Poop.

"We should definitely meet up and I'll text you the details." Akito got his phone. What was he talking about? Crap. "What's your number?" Oh. I recited my phone number as he typed. "Okay, see you tomorrow, Mao!"

"Thanks," I said happily for once. "I never knew you were into bands." I thought.

He shrugged, "Agito's into bands, not me."

I made a face, "oh." Great, the evil one is the one that I have things in common with. Wait…is that saying something? Awesome, I just offended myself...stupid brain. I should seriously stop talking to myself.

Akito laughed at my expression, "you're funny, Mao. I like you." He giggled. His voice was high, even higher than mine.

"Thank you," I smiled back.

"So tomorrow, then?" Akito asked, walking towards his bed.

"Definitely. See you and thanks!" I turned my heel and headed for his door.

"Bye!" Akito called out. Before closing the door, I heard him mutter something though it was too low to hear.

I walked down the stairs 'left, right, left, right' I thought in my head as my feet followed. Sometimes if I don't say 'left' or 'right' I forget which foot goes next and I trip over myself. I took my phone out and read the text message that I got from earlier; it was from Yuki:

_'Home. Now.'_

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><p><strong>AN:** Do you guys think it's progressing slowly? Hmm…I might add some more romance in the next chapter then. I hope someone's actually reading this :( Interesting fact: Mao's personality is based on me and her awkward moment was actually real (my experience). I will be more active in writing chapters :) Chapter 9 is being currently written and I will try to make it interesting with lots of...stuff? Hehe. Thank you for reading!

**Special thanks to:**

*Aoi Heart for being my first follower and for keeping up with my story despite the long delays!

*Rocky Renagade for the very supportive reviews :D Your writing is really amazing!

*Aya Kruez for the _profound_ support and yes, I try not to make her a Mary Sue character and hopefully I'm doing well at it :) Thank you so much! I'd love to read your stories as well when you are able to log in the next time :D

*Wings2strong for the review and yes, I am planning on writing more and faster chapters :)


	9. The Blossoming of A New Friendship

**A/N:** Thank you for the wait :) I will also be planning on uploading a chapter around once every week.

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><p><strong><span>Pretty Little Lady with your swollen eyes, would you show them to me?<span> (A/N**: Hell yeah, Of Mice & Men!)

I woke up incredibly early for the very first time of my life: 10:48a.m. I have never been so ecstatic in my life that I woke up this early.

I went to Kao's bed and propped my knee on the bed to hold my weight. Fuck, she is so pretty. Hell, when I sleep (I know this because Rin took a picture of me asleep as a prank), my hair attacks my face and I'm basically drowning in my own pool of saliva. I'm so elegant. "Dude, wake up." I greeted Sleeping Beauty with a light shake. She groaned and turned away. I slightly frowned and went to Yuki and Saeki's room (Kao and I share one, Saeki and Yuki share one as well, while Tatsuya sleeps by himself because it's his own house. Plus, no one wants to sleep with the tyrant…he gets mad easily.)

I remembered shaking Yuki wouldn't work because he was a really heavy sleeper. I chuckled, ran backwards to get some speed, and jumped onto the sleeping Yuki. It's fine, he's my best friend and if he hits me, I will call childcare. He made a low grunt but didn't move an inch. Seriously what the heck is wrong with this guy? If a madman entered and started shooting everyone, he'd still be asleep. Selfish bitch. "Yuki, dude, wake up. The concert starts at five." I nudged him; nothing.

"What the hell are you doing, Mao." It was a statement not a question. I turned and saw the recently-awoken Saeki sitting upright on his bed, rubbing his eyes. Crap. That deep, sleepy voice. That rustled bed hair. Those muscl—good God he isn't wearing a shirt. How can he eat a lot and have abs? Witchcraft, I say.

"The concert starts at five; we should…get ready." I sat frozen on Yuki's bed and fixed my gaze somewhere else so that Saeki's stare wouldn't distract me.

"Hnn." Was all he said. "Yuki and Kao aren't going to the concert anymore since they have to go meet some important person, I don't know they didn't say mu—"

I snapped my head, "what?" I asked softly with misery. I've been waiting for this concert for two months… I looked down. No, this can't be happening.

"You mean they didn't tell you?" Saeki's voice softened. I shook my head. There was a pause. "The change was sudden, two days ago I think. Don't blame Kao or Yuki; it's not their fault. They have to go even if they wanted to or not." I wanted to cry. "If—if you want I can go with you." He suggested. I slowly looked up to finally face Saeki again. "I mean, I know you badly want to go to this concert." I felt myself tear up a bit.

"Don't you have a date?" I was glad my voice didn't break.

He scoffed gently, "it's not that important." Lie. He had been waiting to take this girl for a week. He got up from his bed and stretched, giving me the perfect view on his well-defined body. He was only wearing boxers and I felt myself redden. "Come on, let's go. After all, it does start at five." He winked and showed me the same charming smile that made me fall in love with him four years ago.

* * *

><p>"Ready?" Saeki asked as he sat down on the driver's seat and put his seatbelt on. I nodded and put mine. Before leaving, I talked to Kao and Yuki about the issue and they explained it to me. I wanted to cry…how could I have been so selfish? Turns out they were meeting an important someone for the sake of the team's future matches and publicity. I tried to shake the negative thought off.<p>

After the ride, we got off and entered the stadium. Luckily, we got the VIP seats because of Saeki (he's actually rich, even richer than Tatsuya) so we didn't have to fall in line. I then remembered something; Akito and his text. Weren't we supposed to meet? I looked at the time from my phone: 4:48. Maybe I should call him? No, no. That will make me seem clingy and annoying. "Come." Saeki said and guided me through the passages.

We got to the VIP area and I looked around; there weren't that many people yet. Out of a sudden, through the vastness of dark-colored-haired people, a blonde blob caught my attention. I squinted my eyes—it was Kazu. I tapped Saeki, "hey, there's Ikki's team." I said and pointed at their direction. He looked and then turned back to me.

"Let's go sit there, then!" He said as he moved further; I followed.

"Hey," Saeki greeted them. I then realized that there were only Kazu, Akito, and Onigiri. Ikki and Buccha were missing. They greeted back. "Mind if we stay here?" Saeki asked.

"No, not at all!" Onigiri chortled. Saeki smiled.

"Oh hang on Mao, I'll be right back. I have to go to the bathroom." Saeki said and I nodded.

"Hang on, I'll come with." Kazu said. And then there were two. From the corner of my eye, I could see Onigiri stroll closer to me. I mentally prayed he wouldn't come closer. I have personal space issues. I leaned farther away, which caused me to lean slightly on Akito's side. Onigiri leaned in even more which then further caused my arm to slightly graze against Akito.

"Oh, sorr—!"

Akito glowered down at me with absolute disgust on his face. My stomach dropped. It was Agito.

* * *

><p>After the exhilarating four-hour concert, we were all beat. It was 9:41 until we got out of the stadium and we said our goodbyes. Saeki offered everyone a ride home, but Agito refused and I didn't go since I had to go buy <em>something<em> and I did not want to buy…my 'girl' products in front of three guys. Definitely not when Horny is around.

"If you're not going to come, at least ask Agito to come with you. It's almost 9:50 and it's not a great idea…having a 17 year old girl walk by herself." Saeki informed.

"Err, no thank you." Have _Agito_ come with me to go buy my stuff? That's even much worse.

"Agito, be a gentleman and help Mao. I'm sure it won't trouble you." Kazu reassured.

"Just help her out, man." Onigiri added. I turned to Agito slightly but he was facing the other way around so I couldn't see his expression.

I heard him grumble a low, 'fuck my life' as he started walking, hands in his pockets. "You better not drag me down or else I'll leave you." He menaced, not looking back at me. It's not like I wanted your help, you butt. Well, I kinda did. I didn't want to get kidnapped and sold to slavery, forced to work profusely my entire life and fed only bread. I don't like bread. I turned quickly to the three and gave a quick smile before turning and catching up to Agito.

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><p>We walked to the nearest convenient store in the park, only to find it closed. It was only 10:08. He grunted again, probably because I just wasted his time. "Sorry." I apologized in defeat and tiredness.<p>

"Great, this is _just_ what I fucking needed." Immense sarcasm and irritation in his hard voice.

I felt myself snap. "Look, I'm sorry to be a bitch but I don't really need this right now. I didn't ask for the store to be closed. I didn't ask for your help. And I _really_ don't need your shitty attitude right now." I breathed heavily, staring at him hard in the eye to tell him that I was dead serious. I never told anyone this (not even Yuki who is my best friend), but my life has been pure agony lately. It's not easy pretending you're perfectly okay and then have someone you already don't like shoot you down even more. I don't talk to anyone about my problems because I feel like I'm bothering and annoying them but the stress, topped with fatigue, were causing me to have a mental breakdown. The truth is—no. I'd rather not talk about it. He stayed quiet for a while, probably surprised about my sudden outburst.

I slumped down on the bench that was just outside the convenience store and rested my head on my hands. I rubbed my hands on my face on the attempt to get myself together. "I'm sorry, I'm sorry." My fingers started to shake and my breathing was becoming uneven. "I'm so sorry you have to see me like this and I know you're just a stranger so you probably don't care at all." I felt a burning sensation in my nose. God, no. Get back in there, you stupid forming tears! I can't cry. I _don't_ cry.

I heard him heave a sigh, "if you have a problem with people, just tell them straight out. Don't be a fucking wimp." He groaned. I felt myself chuckle a bit. He was rude, but he was correct. "Now, can you stop with this emotional shit?" He said in an even more annoyed tone.

"I'm never usually like this, sorry." I still couldn't look at him in the eye. My tears were beginning to subside.

"Stop saying 'sorry' it's pissing me off."

"Sorry." I blurted unconsciously.

"Are you just _fucking_ with me now?" He glared at me with a hard look and furrowed eyebrows. I burst out laughing from his serious demeanor. He gave me a judgmental look, probably thinking I was crazy. I breathed, feeling much better. It felt as if some stress had suddenly vanished.

"You're so uptight." I commented.

He still stood on the same place for around five minutes now with his arms crossed. "Can you get up now, I want to go home. Go call a cab." He replied in a tired tone. "Plus, I'm not, you are." He is as defensive as a little kid.

I shrugged, "later, later. Are you saying I should let loose?" I raised my eyebrow.

"Whatever, do what you want and just fucking hurry up, I want to go home."

"Okay." I stood up, picked up a rock, and threw it near the shady guy who was sitting down and sniffing something, probably drugs. He glared and then charged at us with such surprising speed. I felt my chest tighten as my heart began to race and my knees ran for their lives, "RUN!" I screamed in exhilaration at Agito.

* * *

><p>We stopped in a dark alley, breathing heavily. "What...the fuck was…that?" he puffed.<p>

"You told me to let loose." I laughed nervously but due to my uneven breathing, my laugh turned into a loud snort. Agito gave me a weird look. So what if I snort when I laugh? I'm sorry I'm not the perfect girl with the cute and high-pitched, adorable laugh.

"I didn't say anything, dumbass." Agito stretched his back and shook his head in disapproval, but at the same time…I could see the concealed, mild amusement playing on his slender lips.

I pulled out something from my pocket and offered it to him; it was a _The Gazette_ bracelet that I got signed earlier from Kai and Aoi. It was the only thing I got from the concert.

He looked at my hand, "no, it's fine I don't want it."

"No, I _want_ you to have it." I grabbed his arm and placed the bracelet on his palm. "It's a thank-you gift, for everything. If you really don't want it, throw it away." I turned my heel and walked away.

"Aren't you gonna keep this?" I heard him call.

I twirled around and shook my head, "no. I found something much more important." I smiled at him. It was the blossoming of a new, unexpected friendship.

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><p><strong>AN:** I am thinking of making them all go to the beach next chapter :D Romance will surely (and truly) ensue.

Aya Kruez: Oh, what a shame! I really want to read some of your stories :) Aww, thank you so much, I'm glad you really like her character and my story! :O Really? Maybe I should include more gay moments hahaha~ Do you think I should? :\

: Thank you much! I thought chapter 8 was really boring and I just really wanted you guys to know more about Mao's personality :)


	10. The Bitch in the Beach

**RIN'S POV**

"Come on," I told Mao, "if something is bothering you, tell me. I'm your best friend, afterall." I said in a soft tone as we sat down on the chairs, facing one another. I haven't seen Mao lately and from the way she carried herself and her face…I could tell something had been bothering her for quite a while.

"I'm okay, really." She laughed lightly.

I stared hard at her, "no. No you're not." Her smile dropped and she looked uneasy, avoiding my gaze. I grabbed both of her hands and began stroking them, I looked at her tenderly, "it's okay. I'll be here, I promise. Stop keeping everything to yourself, Mao."

"Promise me we'll stay friends?" Hope in her voice.

"Of course." I gently smiled.

It seemed as if she was about to cry, she shifted closer and looked down, "I've…I've never told anyone this but, I…" she paused and cleared her weakening voice, "something happened to my dad. Something happened in his work and now… he's resulting back to his old habits of smoking and drinking because he's stressed." I felt my chest tighten as Mao looked away.

"Mao," I started. I met Mao's dad once. He was a businessman of late forties, he had a strong built which made him seem very intimidating, and he was an overall stern man. I also knew he had a severe smoking problem and bronchitis two years ago. Him drinking again definitely meant bad news. "It will be okay, trust me. Things always get better; they always do. Life won't put you through so much suffering." I put a reassuring arm around her.

"Thanks." She responded softly. "I'm sorry I'm bothering you with all my problems and you probably think I'm annoying. I'm selfish I know, but please don't leave me, Rin." Her hands were trembling.

"Why would I leave you? I asked, exasperated. Mao is my best friend and is one of the nicest people I know; who would leave this sweet child?

"I don't know, but people always…seem to get tired of me and I don't know what I'm doing wrong." Her feeble voice cracked. Leave? Mao? How could I have not noticed this problem? I…I've been friends with her for over four years and yet I never truly realized that she was suffering from depression? I felt sick to my stomach and I felt myself grow angry, slightly gritting my teeth. 'Some friend you are, Rin.' My brain spat viciously.

"What's wrong with me?" She whimpered as she rubbed her eyes.

Realization then caused me to be calm once again. "No, nothing is wrong with you, Mao. You're perfect. Why didn't you tell me this?" I asked her. Did she not consider me as a true friend?

She was quiet at first, but finally looked up to meet my eyes after what seemed like eternity, "you have been one of my only friends, Rin. I…I don't want to bother and annoy you with my problems." Mao's sorrowful eyes were gentle and childlike, and yet, that innocent face held such immense pain that I have never grasped. She gazed at me with pleading eyes, "I don't want to lose you like I did to my other friends. I don't want you to get tired of…_me_." Her voice broke on the last word as tears began to run on her face. She quickly wiped them up and laughed as if nothing happened.

I don't know what came over me but I slapped her across the face. I felt my palm sting from the impact and I could see the forming red hand mark on her pale cheek. My knees shook as I clung to her hard, crying now. She tried saying something but I couldn't what she said over my whimpers and cries. I felt so happy and privileged that she came out from that tiny shell and talked to me about her feelings, which she never did. "Stupid, stupid Mao!" After a while, my tears began to subside, I took this opportunity to let go of her and looked her in the eye, "don't EVER do that again, okay? Never keep secrets away from me. I am always here. I'll never leave you." She gave a sigh of relief with her melancholy eyes.

"Thank goodness…I thought you were going to hate me." She finally smiled slightly. I couldn't control myself and I hugged her as tight as possible, ensuring that she knows that she was safe in my arms. I will never abandon her.

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><p><strong>MAO'S POV<strong>

A couple of hours after our emotional issue, I profusely thanked Rin. I walked to my, Rin's, and Kao's room, where I saw Saeki and Yuki sitting on the couch. Yesterday, Kao suggested that we go the beach including Rin because the past few days had been very stressful and we all decided it was a great idea. Not only that, but Kao also invited Kazu as well and that meant…yep, the whole Kogarasumaru team is going.

"What's wrong," Yuki asked with concern. "Something happened." He said matter-a-factly. "Tell me." Were my eyes still red? I'm sure I put lots of eyedrops. Yuki was my best guy friend, while Rin was my best girl friend.

I shook my head, "no, I'm all good." I've gotten used to this. "Let's go." I tried to change the topic.

"Hang on," I heard Kao call from the bathroom. "Plus, we have to wait for Tatsuya." I was about to open my mouth when Saeki cut in.

"Room and lunch reservation."

"Ahh." Just then, Kao came out in short denim shorts and a black bikini top. I caught Saeki raise an eyebrow, impressed at Kao's glorious curves and body. "Do you have your bathing suit ready?" She asked me, to which I nodded. Yuki got up and went to the bathroom, carrying his swimming trunks, probably changing as well.

"I gotta change too." Saeki said in a bored tone and followed Yuki.

Kao and I instantly looked at each other and our smirks grew, "gaaaays!" We sang suggestively in a low murmur.

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><p>I sat down on our reserved area where there were several beach chairs and a huge tent-looking umbrella thing that covered the chairs. Saeki already parted his way, most likely off to meet girls and I don't know where Tatsuya is. Yuki, Kao, and Rin were with me, sitting on the chairs.<p>

Kao leaned over as she started putting on sunscreen, "Mao, you should you know…take your clothes off." She said and eyed me downwards; I was still wearing a _Pierce the Veil_ shirt, denim capris, and flip flops.

"I can't," I hissed, "I'm allergic to the sun." I told her, extending my arm outward so that wasn't covered by the shade from the tent. When I felt the heat on my palm, I did a mini spasm like I was exorcised, and swiftly retreated my hand, pretending to be allergic to the deadly sun. "You see? It's so sad." I faked a frown while I took out my laptop.

"What the hell are you going to do, just stay in your laptop?" Kao asked. "You're in the _beach_!"

"Yeah, pretty much." I shrugged.

She gave me a strange look, "you can't stay in your laptop for five hours, Mao."

I gave her an amused look and then a sneer, "oh, _watch_ me." I can watch my TV shows, read manga, and stories about my OTPs forever. My beautiful OTPs.

I heard a sigh and I turned to the direction, Yuki was leaving. I felt a sudden force and my laptop was out of my grasp in a matter of half a second.

"KAO! Give it back!" I stood up, grabbing it from her but she simply turned away and threatened the drop it. I felt like a mother who just lost her child.

"You know, Mao, you should just go and at least have a dip." Rin added, not looking up from her book, _Bridge to Terabithia. _

"I'm not giving it back until you at least take your clothes off."

"Hell. No." I said flat out.

She then dropped it; I screamed slightly and tried to catch it, bruising my knees on the way, but then Kao caught it anyways. Betrayed by my own flesh and blood…it's going to take years for me to trust Kao again. I'm kidding. I sighed and hurriedly stipped down to my striped tankini and board shorts.

"What. The fuck. Are you wearing." Kao spoke in choppy sentences, glaring at my attire. I personally found nothing wrong with it. "I bought a new set of bikini for you to use." I felt my chest squeeze a bit. "You should tie your hair back as well."

"Look, Kao," I started in a defeated voice, "I'm not thin, I'm not pretty, I have heaps of pimples—" I pushed my bangs back to show her and fixed it again—"and I have really bad skin." I said with utmost honestly. I caught Rin putting her book down, looking at me with a concern look. I sighed, "you guys probably weigh around like, I don't know a hundred five pounds while I'm _incredibly_ short and I weigh a hundred thirty four or somewhere around that". I stared hard at them. "…I'm confident about myself at all, as you guys are." I faced away.

Kao was quiet for a long time and this time, Rin was the one that was talking, "Mao. You're perfect and don't ever change who you are. Be proud of your body and fuck whoever thinks otherwise." Rin grinned and punched my arm playfully.

"Yeah…" I replied awkwardly.

"I'm sorry, that was so insensitive of me." Kao apologized and I smiled to show her that it was okay.

Thinking of the depressing mood, "do you guys want to play beach volleyball? Not the regular two-on-two, but like regular volleyball, just…in the beach. There's a free court over there." I suggested and turned my head to the direction of the court.

Kao's face instantly lightened, "that's a great idea, I'll call Kazu and the others to play with us!"

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><p>We ended up choosing the two teams randomly. In Rin's team were Buccha, a pink-haired girl named 'Mikan', and myself. On the other team, there were a pretty girl with glasses named 'Ringo', Ikki, Kao, a girl named Yayoi, and Kazu.<p>

Earlier, Kazu asked if he could bring a couple of friends through the phone and I could see slight irritation in Kao's perfect face. I think it was jealousy. Still, Kao told him it was fine. Now, the Ikki's team are everywhere in the beach and some of them decided to join us in our volleyball game. It was a four vs five match since no one else wanted to join and everyone else left to do their own thing.

We then took our positions as Kazu served the first ball.

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><p><strong>20 minutes later…<strong>

I was _dying_. I felt so tired and my legs were trembling like crazy, like I could pass out any moment. Running is evil, why the hell do people even do this. The score was 11-15 and we were losing. I think I was a huge part of it though; when a spike was coming to my direction, I freaked out and ran away which earned groans. Hey, I don't want to break my arms for one point! I've always been bad at sports. I felt so stupid suggesting this.

"Can't…breathe…" I wheezed heavily, but ran, and did a dig. It was coming between Kazu and Kao, they were both running for it, but they realized it and neither hit the ball. Finally! My first point, good God. Hey, at least I'm trying, right? I saw them both blush awkwardly and apologize to each other.

I heard a whistle, I turned and I saw two muscular blonde guys approaching our side of the court with sneers on their pointy faces. I saw them eye Rin and I grew defensive, treading my way. Buccha, the only guy in our group, clenched his fists to intimade them but to no avail.

"What do you fucking want." I glared. Rin had always been targeted by many guys due to her unique beauty; she was only half Japanese and I always had to protect her. This time, it's my turn to help Rin now. I saw one of them look down at me with annoyance (I was short).

"Get lost." Rin waved her arm.

"Hey." I heard Ikki threaten from the behind, everyone following him.

"I'm not even doing anything, man. Jeez. Calm the fuck down." He shrugged.

"Yeah." The other one added.

"Then get lost." Rin repeated. I notice him reached his arm towards Rin and with all the energy left in me, I sprinted and kicked him in his manhood.

"BITCH!" He cried and fell on his knees, while his friend gave me an icy glare and helped him up. It's gonna take a lot more than an icy glare to make me piss my pants from fear, buddy. I heard a couple of tiny cheers from the behind me as Rin ran to hug me.

"If I had a dick, this is when I'd tell you to _suck_ it, you perv." I looked down at him with a slight pout, I furrowed my eyebrows, extended my arms sideways the way how gangsters do, and with my most thug-like voice, I said, "come at me, bro!" I tried to be all confident on the outside but I was actually dying on the inside—my foot felt like I just kicked a wall.

"Fuckin' fat bitch." He uttered with toxicity in his voice, still gripping his crotch.

"At least I'm not a hairy twig like you." I retorted, looking at his bushy chest. "See, man, guys like you are the exact reason why girls turn into lesbians." I shrugged. "Not saying I am one, though." I sighed and rolled my eyes. Rin squealed happily, hugging me tightly.

"Ballsy move," I heard the familiar voice remark from the behind. So _this_ was where he was.

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><p><strong>AN:** How was it? Bad? Good? :D

_Destiny-Shadow-Walker:_ Thank you! Yeah, I don't want Mao to be perfect because I think those Mary Sue characters are unnatural and boring so I hope I'm doing well, keeping her character constant I mean. Really? Do you think there should be a love triangle? If yes, with whom do you suggest Mao with (except for Agito) because I am very willing to take suggestions like things that YOU want to see happen in the story :) Hmm…maybe I should add one? Maybe not? :/ I'm so sorry ahahhaa I should stop with the titles…such give-aways D: I tried to make it funny and I hope you were laughing or else I'll be sad because I tried very hard to make The Downfall funny and it doesn't even work due to my horrid humor c: No, not at all! I love reading reviews and comments because they really inspire me to write more and grow as a writer; I appreciate your review very much so thank you :) Your story sounds very promising as well and good luck to you too! Very nice to read :D

_Forever Fanfiction 22_: I'm glad I made you laugh! I try very hard to be sarcastic and I hope it's working ahahhaha! Thank you so much for the support and more laughers will come :D

_Reaper death:_ I'm sorry I didn't make it that clear and it was not descriptive (the problem plan thing, I mean). I was slightly hurrying the progress up because I felt that if I went into full detail as to why they didn't tell Mao, it was going to be super long. Don't worry, Mao's friends made it up in this chapter! Thank you for the support, you guys are the ones that truly keep on inspiring me to write more :)

_Queen 0f Games:_ Thank you so much :D I felt that my intro was too long and that's the reason why people don't stay after the first chapter :( Still, if I went straight to the details, I'd feel...weird because the readers don't know anything about the characters. Thank you for staying and believing in my story! Yeah, I tried very hard to relate her to everyday girls who are socially awkward and are not drop-dead gorgeous because let's face it, perfect people are boring and they're unrealistic. I hope I can continue to meet your expectations :)

_Aya Kruez:_ :O I'm so happy that you think I am doing a great job :D Though I think my story is getting slightly choppy and boring. Okay, I will definitely try to add gay moments for all the yaoi fangirls out there. If you have any more suggestions or things you'd like to see yourself in the story, please tell me :) Oh my goodness... you have no idea how much I'm blushing right now from your compliments. Thank you so so SO much! I will be updating around every weekend :D

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><p><strong>AN: **Next chapter will include games, truth or dares, campfires, and other crazy events that people usually do in the beach ;)


	11. Truths, Dares, and Fan Girling

**A/N:** Sorry for the delay, I had loads of assessments before spring break! As a result, I made this chapter long and I included fan service :)

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><p>I turned and saw Agito with an amused look on his face. I didn't like it not one bit. All the attention. Everyone staring at me. I looked down and hurried back to our room, away from the chaos and people. I had to be alone again. I can't get too close to others or else I'll only end up hurt when they get tired of me.<p>

That night, we all decided to gather in the beach after dinner to hang out. We all huddled in the campfire, along with the three other girls—Yayoi, Mikan, and Ringo. I picked up the metallic stick and speared a marshmallow through it along with everyone. I positioned it just above the fire and took a bite. I groaned at the scrumptious flavor. This is the reason why I'm fat; I can't stop eating.

"What do you guys want to do now?" Mikan asked in a bored tone. I personally like her pink hair a lot.

I stood up after eating four more marshmallows. Rin, who was on my left side looked up to meet my eyes, "where are you going?"

"Uh…to the room?" I answered obviously, raising my eyebrow. She grabbed my arm and pulled me down, causing me to fall hard on my butt. Thank goodness the fat on my butt helped reduce the impact. Oh, the perks of being chubby. I yawned, pretending to be sleepy, stretching my arms to really highlight it.

"Stay here, with me" Rin murmured. Was she scared? Lonely? I don't know myself, but I nodded and stayed, hoping I would blend in the darkness and let myself become invisible.

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><p>"Truth or dare anyone?" Saeki suggested with a smirk. Oh hell no. My stomach was turning wildly again; I hated truth or dares. I'm out.<p>

I leaned to Rin to whisper in her ear. I was planning on telling her I couldn't go and make some excuse like I have cramps or something, "dude, sorry but I'm kind of—"

"Mao." Saeki called. I made a sound in between a terrified snort and a neigh, turning my head rigidly to Saeki, which caused a few to chuckle at the sound. He knew I hated this game and was trapping me.

"Yes?" I gritted between my teeth, mentally beating him on the head.

Saeki showed me a fake, innocent smile, "truth or dare."

"I'd rather not." I replied slowly.

Ikki, Saeki, and Kao groaned with a frown. "Party pooper." Ikki called.

I shrugged, "I don't know dude, can you just leave me alone." I realized everyone had been staring at me again. God, how I hate this feeling.

"Truth or da—"

"Truth." I cut Saeki off; I wanted to get this over with quickly.

"Ohh, feisy~" he sang.

"Fuck off." I noticed Kazu and Buccha flinch. I guess they thought I was the sweet, innocent type.

"Are you a boy or girl?" He chortled in amusement.

"Hang on, let me check." I replied blankly and peeked in my shirt. My smart-assness caused nearly everyone to laugh hard, except for Agito who was forced to stay and was as rigid as a pistachio.

After Saeki's laughter, he said, "Okay, okay. This time for real: if you could have anything in the world, what would you want? Or some_one_, for example." He winked suggestively.

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><p>"If I could have anything I want?" I asked more to myself after a while. I don't know actually, never really thought about it. Then, after a while, my face lit up as I had the answer. "I'd want unlimited concert tickets." Before Saeki could say anything and to avoid more attention, I reached for the bottle and spun; it landed on Ringo.<p>

"Truth or dare?" Ikki eagerly asked. Were they together? I think they'd make a cute pair.

"Umm…dare." She seemed satisfied with her answer.

"I dare…" Mikan started. "…You to draw a unibrow, take eat a packet of seaweed—" she raised the new pack—"and hit on a handsome guy while talking in a strong Southern accent." I looked up at the sky, hoping to forget the scene. I wanted to be alone. I saw a star glisten and realized I could have been watching Supernatural right now. Then maybe read some…Dean/Cas fanfiction. Shh, shipping two guys is perfectly normal. I turned to the group and realized Ringo had returned with a drawn unibrow, sitting down happily. Did she finish already? That was quick, then maybe I was daydreaming too long. She spun the bottle and it landed on Tatsuya, which he picked 'dare', but Buccha suggested that it should be a double dare, meaning two people doing the dare simultaneously. They all agreed and Tatsuya spun, landing it pointing towards Mikan.

"Hmm…I dare you guys to…err…recite the balcony scene from _Romeo and Juliet_."

"I don't know the lines." Tatsuya sounded disgusted.

"Me neither." Mikan added.

"Just make stuff up," Kao shrugged. Tatsuya rolled his eyes as they got up. He crouched down on the flat pavement, Mikan literally two meters away from him.

"Oh Romeo, Romeo, wherefore art thou Romeo?" Mikan recited dramatically, fake-searching for 'Romeo' who's two meters away.

"Hark! She speaks." Tatsuya nonchalantly said, performing the aside in the most ironic way possible. Just then, a couple of people started gathering.

"Something something…why are you called Romeo? It's not a name nor a foot…err something…uhh…" Mikan thought and then started talking gibberish. I was personally fond of Shakespeare, especially _Macbeth_. It was a beautiful play with such profound themes. I looked away and decided to stare at the burning fire. Through it, I made eye-contact with Agito's piercing eye, which burned with life and intense passion under the cracking flame. I blinked awkwardly and looked away.

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><p>'I'm a little teapot short and…something. This is my handle, this is…' I sang the song in my head. Tatsuya and Mikan then came back a couple of minutes later, chuckling and mumbling to each other. Tatsuya offered Mikan to spin the bottle and she did; it landed on Buccha. Ikki smirked evilly.<p>

"Truth or dare?" He asked dauntingly.

"Tru—"

"I dare you to wear a bra, stuff it with socks and pretend you're a girl. You see those girls there—" he pointed at a group of blondes and one brunette laughing together while holding a camera"—take a picture with them." He said quickly; I think he already had this dare planned out.

"I said 'truth'." Buccha said in his defense, but shrugged it off, probably annoyed and decided to do it anyways. "Dude, I don't have a bra that'll fit me."

"Guess pretend you're a girl and tie half of your shirt to the side, revealing your abs." Ikki laughed and the others joined. I want to watch Supernatural really badly now. I wonder if Dean died yet? Probably. He dies in like every other episode.

Buccha then revealed his abs and walked to the girls, who were taking a picture. They suddenly backed away, intimidated by his size. "Come on, take a picture with me." He said in a high-pitched, overly fake voice and slightly pouted his masculine face. I quickly covered my mouth when my pig snort came out. Holy shit. The girls shook their heads but Buccha urged on, finally, they took a photo with uneasy faces and Buccha doing a slight duckface and a peace sign, bending down to get down to their height. He then tilted the camera to look at the recently-taken photo, then, I heard him say, "ugh. This is such a fugly picture. Can you, like, take another one?" He rolled his eyes and talked in a very spoiled-like, girly accent. He bent down, did the duckface, and stuck out the peace sign again, ready for the second photo. Oh my goodness, Buccha. I didn't know you were such a funny mothereffer!

He came back and everyone cheered, Kazu giving him a slight shake on his shoulder. Buccha spun and it landed on Ringo, but he spun again and it landed on Kao this time round.

"Truth or dare?" He asked.

"Truth." Everyone 'ooh-ed', probably expecting her to do a dare.

"I'm excited!" Rin said from my side and nudged me. "I wonder what the question is?"

"What was something big that had a huge affect on you?" Ringo asked when no one thought of a question.

Kao looked a bit uncomfortable which was very rare, "I…I've always been quite outspoken and outgoing." She started, slowly, "I talked to everyone and I was a very happy child, but there was a rumor." Her tone dropped; I closed eyes because I knew what she was talking about. "Apparently everyone thought I was 'fake' and there was…umm…" She gulped and fidgeted, with a hushed voice, she murmured, "that I was…" She laughed a bitter laugh and tears were beginning to form, "that…I was having an affair with my business teacher, so the rum, I mean rumor, was that I was into old, rich men…because of the thing." She said after a while and everyone got quiet, she was quietly sobbing, while Rin and Ringo rubbed her back. "Of course I wasn't having an affair, I didn't even have a boyfriend that time nor do I like old men! It's just…at that time, no one believed me. No one talked to me because they thought they'd be bullied or my 'goldigger-ness' will rub off on them. I mean—sure, it wasn't true, but it was _hard_. Knowing nobody believed you…no one talking to you. Everyone hated me because they thought I was fake, I was this and—and—" she cringed, frustrated. "I…I couldn't take it anymore, got really depressed, smoked for a few years, and transferred schools." She nodded, "that's when I met these guys." She smiled solemnly as she opened her arms wide, motioning at whole Royal Clubs team. Saeki ran up and hugged Kao, while Tatsuya cooed her. That's the thing with Kao—she lived a hard life and despite her confidence, she is a very vulnerable child that is scared. The Kogarasumaru team looked speechless at the seriousness of the conversation.

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><p>"I…" I started, easily catching everyone's attention in the silent aura, "It must be hard for pretty girls; people don't see through their beauty." A few smiled at my comment and I shared a sweet smile with Kao. She hurried and spun the bottle; it landed on Saeki. Saeki grinned and pumped himself up by standing up and jogging on the spot, lightening up the mood.<p>

"Truth or dare?" Kazu asked.

"Dare." He grinned. He had always been a daredevil, which I found very attractive.

"I dare you to serenade your boyfriend." Onigiri laughed. I completely forgot about the pervert. I thought he'd be away jacking off to some porn. Still, despite his personality, I had to admit, he was a pretty damn good rider and he had an incredibly unique style of riding.

"I don't have a boyfriend." Saeki said evidently.

"Oh, really?" Onigiri sounded unsure, as if he was questioning Saeki. Onigiri then looked at him from top to bottom.

"Umm...yeah. The last time I checked, I was straight." He slightly shook his head as he talked and chuckled a bit.

"Oh sorry. I thought you and that guy were going out." Onigiri heaved a sigh and motioned towards Yuki. Saeki and Yuki? I snorted again and quickly covered my mouth. This is just _too_ good!

"I'm straight, dude." Saeki shook his head in disapproval, while smirking at the same time.

"Onigiri still dares you to serenade to Yuki." Kazu challenged, Onigiri nodded. Is Onigiri gay? Why is he forcing Saeki and Yuki together? Shit, I'd love to see some of it as well.

"You want me to sing to him?" Saeki asked flatly and Onigiri laughed. "Fine." I raised my eyebrow in interest. I change my mind, I'd rather stay here than watch Supernatural now.

"Any song is fine, but it has to be romantic." Onigiri said.

"I have a song," Kao suggested and raised her iPod. The song 'Bad Boy' by Cascada started playing. Oh my freaking goodness. Saeki looked taken back at the choice of song, but managed to remain his composure.

* * *

><p>'Remember the feelings, remember the day,' the song started as Saeki sauntered sexually to Yuki, mouthing the words with his luscious, pink lips. I looked at Yuki, he looked terrified and surprised, maybe a bit amused as well. 'My stone heart was breaking my love ran way,' Saeki lip-synched and gazed at Yuki with such yearning, burning eyes, as if he wanted to devour Yuki whole with his insatiable lust. 'This moment I knew I would be someone else, my love turned around and I fell,' Saeki looked flushed as he sunk on Yuki's lap, wrapping his slender arms loosely around his neck; I noticed Yuki raise an entertained eyebrow at Saeki's action before I looked away.<p>

I muffled an internal, fan girl scream and looked away. Mother of God. This was every fan girl's dream. I closed my eyes and distracted myself upon the wonderfully arousing sight, but my head desperately craved a tiny peek. As the song went on, wild fantasies started playing in my head of the two gorgeous, young males. I then felt a bit of liquid drop under my nose and…yes, I was literally having a nosebleed. I quickly wiped it off and kept my wavering eyes closed, hoping the song would end soon. I cursed and forced my heart to stay quiet. When the song ended, I opened my eyes and found two flushed, timid teens. Yuki cleared his throat and the bottle landed on me again. Haha, I already did it. Sucks to be you, you stupid bottle. Wait—I'm sorry! That was completely unnecessary. I was—wait. Why am I talking to a bottle. Crap, I'm talking to myself again. Shh, shut up. 'No, I won't'. God, I really need to stop doing this. 'Yeah, you should.'

"Your truth was so boring though," Ikki complained and groaned. "You need to do an interesting dare."

I shrugged, "that sucks, man. I already did my turn. There are some of those that haven't went yet; you should give them a go."

Kazu laughed uncomfortably, "no, we have loads of time." I mentally glared at him; he was probably halting his turn and hoping everyone would get tired of the game soon so that he wouldn't go.

"Mao," Ikki started a happy tone, I groaned. I change my mind again, I'd rather go back and watch Supernatural instead.

"Since you're socially awkward, I dare you to kiss the most attractive boy in the circle," he smirked in content. "Like this little shit right here." He elbowed Agito with a laugh, which was sitting next to him. I didn't dare look at Agito in the eye.

"Umm…no thanks." I laughed uncomfortably.

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><p><strong>AN:** Sorry for some spelling errors, I fixed them but the internet was bad so I lost everything and had to re-do them again. Also, some of my readers wanted some light...guyxguy action so I included a scene of it. If you got offended or you didn't like it, please tell me in a review or message me so that I know that it displeases people and that I know not to do it again. I highly respect your opinion and belief, so please tell me. Thank you for reading and have a great day!


	12. The Law of Attraction

**A/N:** Sorry I haven't been feeling well for nearly a week so I couldn't work on my story! Since the romance isn't going anywhere, I made sure that this chapter truly sparked some romance. Sorry if it was too sudden D:

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><p>"Look, this is stupid, okay? Forcing someone to kiss someone else." I shook my head in complete disapproval. "No offense." I quickly added. I didn't mean to offend anyone if I did.<p>

"It can be quick and easy if you just kiss someone." Ikki challenged. I gave him a look. He then paused for a while, "or is it because you've never had your first kiss?" My eyes widened and I flinched, taken back at his sudden accusation. I heard people 'ooh' and Ikki smirked when I said nothing because I was too stunned to react. Was I making it really obvious?

"Of-Of course I kissed someone already!" I puffed and I could feel myself redden. Accidents count, right? I was probably five or so when it happened. I was talking to my classmate and a friend of mine playfully pushed me so I bumped onto his forehead and accidentally bit his lip. He cried after that.

"Then I see no reason as to why you can't do it again." Ikki sighed, but his dark eyes twinkled with interest.

"You know what? Fine." I said and got up.

"Mao, you don't have to do the dare, it's just a silly game." Rin told me. I felt my pride rise. My pride had always been my downfall.

I fixed my gaze at my target, bent down, rested my hands on my knees as I felt my hair fall to the side, and planted a soft peck on his cheek. He turned around to look at me and blinked twice, baffled. Yuki was my best guy friend and I'm sure he wouldn't mind. Plus, I have the sex appeal of a rock so we'll never work out. We're simply bros.

"Hey, hey! That's cheating!" Ikki stood up and pointed at me.

"You didn't say on the lips. A kiss is a kiss." I said blankly and I looked at Rin, "I'm going." I was really tired from all the volleyball that I was getting cranky.

Rin got up, "oh! Uh…I'm going too." She said and quickly followed me. Why did I even join that stupid game? I feel so humiliated.

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><p>I laid on my bed and covered my face. "Mao, are you okay?" Rin sat down and put a hand on my shoulder. She then spent the next forty minutes comforting me with funny stories and endearing things, thus making me feel much better. Rin had always been such a great friend. She was far too nice and I wasn't good enough for her. I never was. She then began singing 'Asleep' by the Smiths and her captivating voice echoed within the empty room. She reached out and began caressing my hair as she continued to sing me the gentle lullaby and much faster than I could realize it, I felt myself fall deeper into a peaceful slumber with my guardian angel right next to me.<p>

The next day came and we packed our luggage in the car. Right next to our car was Ikki's team's car and they were packing as well. I can't believe they all fit in that tiny Subaru car though. I then realized that I was missing my luggage. The two men that carried out bags downstairs must have mixed them up. I looked around for a green suitcase and I found it in the Kogarasumaru's side.

I saw someone about to pick it up. "Oh, that's mine!" I looked up and Agito stared at me with an unfathomable gaze. I felt my heart skip a beat when his eyes met mine. I'm guessing that was the cholesterol acting up from the two hamburgers that I ate earlier for breakfast. Great, I'm going to die early.

I jogged and bent over to pick up my bag. Just then, I noticed my _The Gazette_ bracelet that I gave to him peeking out from his long jacket. I couldn't help but smile sheepishly, but I then quickly forced myself not to. He then caught me staring at his wrist and sneered at me; he probably thinks I have some wrist fetish now. I then smiled again at the sight of my bracelet. It might be really small, but I felt extremely happy that he was wearing something that was very important to me.

"You're a weird one." He commented with his husky voice—completely juxtaposing his miniature and undoubtedly short height. I don't know why, but Agito is not all that bad. Sure he has his moments where you want to punch him, but sometimes he's pretty decent. Like right now. Even likeable, maybe.

I looked up and I blinked at the sight. I've never realized it, but Agito was pretty. His skin was flawlessly pale and bright. He had such slender, perfectly curled eyelashes that complemented the wonderfully arched dark eyebrows of his, which twinkled under the sunshine. To top it off, his nose was petite and simply picturesque. Then, his lips. They were full and succulent with a hint of a rosy shade, which made him look feminine and sweet. Why can't I be attractive as him? Great, a _boy_ is prettier than me.

He glared harder; I was probably staring for too long. I didn't know what was happening and I felt myself become awkward at the scene. "I…uhh—err," I stuttered as my head couldn't think of anything to say. It was as if my brain decided to take a break from thinking and was playing elevator music instead. "Did you know that there are roughly 250,000 sweat glands on a pair of feet?" I rambled quickly with my eyes wide open. "No? You didn't, didn't you?" I said quickly fake laughed to ease the tension. I quickly picked up my bag before he could do or say anything, not breaking the eye- contact, "I'll go now." I said speedily again and nodded, running away as fast as possible with my head down. I felt my heart beat increase tremendously in pace. I pushed my way into the car and exhaled with my eyes furrowed. I really need to stop embarrassing myself. My hands were trembling. Was this his effect on me? If yes, I don't like it not one bit.

Yuki then got in and sat next to me. "You okay?" He asked. I nodded. I gently massaged my shaking hands, "you're red. What happened?" My eyes shot open and I quickly set my hands free from his grasp and placed them on either side of my cheeks.

"Nothing happened!" I replied a little too loud. Crap, was I really that red? I then felt heat on the palms of my sweating hands. Oh no…

He nodded slowly, "yes. Very." Everyone then started going in the car and buckling their seat belts. I looked down and let my bangs fall so that no one could see my flustered face.

"Yuki, help me." I pleaded with a soft tone as I scooted a bit over to his side so that no one else could hear. My heart beat wouldn't slow down and it felt like it was going to explode. I don't know what's happening with me! My stomach then started turning and all these odd emotions were making me feel all weird and tingly on the inside. The possibility then dawned onto me and I choked at the thought.

"Mao, what's wrong?" He asked rapidly, his tone filled with fear and uncertainty. He looked like he was ready to pounce and hit someone.

I breathed heavily and with an uneven, cracked voice, I mumbled, "I…I think I have a crush."

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><p><strong>AN:** I don't know where the story is going so I'm thinking of maybe stopping writing this story :/ I also don't feel that it's particularly 'good' and that I'll only disappoint you guys because nothing's happening.

_Reaperdeath:_ Really? I feel that adding a new character will be kind of odd since she already has six friends and I don't want her to have another close friend since she's supposed to have very little. Sorry! I will try to make Rin's character more like-able and supportive as a friend. My purpose is also to show how Mao is also a bit of a loner and prefers to be independent sometimes. I'm also really bad at giving advice so it's my fault that I can't make Rin give Mao helpful advice D': SO SORRY!

_Forever Fanfiction Lover22:_ Thank you so much for your constant reviews, I highly super duper appreciate them! It was unoriginal though, right? I felt that it was but I'm not creative and I tried D:

_Leoth3lion:_ Thank you for the review and support :D I try very hard to be funny D:


	13. When Nightmares Come Alive

Today, Rin left to go back to New Zealand to continue her studies. The rest of the team were out practicing, but I pleaded if I could skip just that time and Tatsuya understood. In the airport, while waiting for her plane, we talked for what seemed like hours and we were planning on our future and everything. She told me she wanted to be an architect and design many buildings, while I told her I wanted a simple life in the countryside. A farmer will suffice. I think growing vegetables and fruits is neat.

The moment her flight was called and she stepped onto the platform, I felt my chest squeeze and my nose became a bit runny. It felt like I was missing a part of me and I didn't like it. I closed my eyes and told myself not to be selfish again; Rin going back to New Zealand will bring her lots of opportunities and I don't want to bring her down. It's for the best.

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><p>I rode my ATs and was heading back to our practice area, when I felt something explode on my right AT, which caused me to topple violently and smash my head onto a nearby wall. I groaned and brought my foot closer to me, but I felt a short pang of pain and I quickly let go. I must have sprained my ankle. I breathed heavily and realized that there weren't many people around, barely anyone actually. Thank goodness or my fall would have been extremely embarrassing.<p>

I narrowed my eyes to study my right air treck and I saw that my back wheel was loose and on the verge of falling off, which was weird because I just fixed my ATs last week. I bit my lip and shrugged the thought of. I placed a hand on the wall that I banged my head on for support and stood on my left leg, carefully trying not to put any pressure on my throbbing right foot. I felt my arm quiver at the inability to support all my weight, I snarled and then suddenly, I felt an arm around my upper back.

"Careful," the voice said as he or she helped me up. I turned slightly and I saw an ebony-haired girl in her early twenties, holding me.

"T-thanks...!" I muttered awkwardly while her arm still rested around my back.

"I was at the corner of the street when I saw you fall. It looked pretty bad so I ran as fast as I could." She grinned with a hint of nervousness. I then spotted a small scar on her lip. Regardless, she was still good-looking, but somewhere between her stunning chocolate eyes, I could have sworn I saw them twinkle with dark obscurity. Also, especially the fact that lately these days, someone had been terrorizing the neighborhood and beating people up so much that they look nearly disfigured. "Can you walk?"

"Uhh…" I mumbled and applied the tiniest force on my right foot, but as quickly as it went, I felt myself jump at the sting. "It's okay, I umm…I'll call a taxi." I smiled lightly. "Thank you for the offer, but y—"

"Oh, hey! I know that emblem!" She exclaimed, looking at my jacket. I looked down at my jacket and realized it was the logo of our team and my signature logo, the Ace of Spades. "'The Royal Clubs', rght?! I've seen you guys battle, I'm a _huge_ fan!" I grinned widely at the recognition. "Oh wow, this is such a coincidence! Ah, I know! I'll fix your air treck." She laughed heartedly. "Come, I know a place." Despite her friendly attitude, something was telling me I shouldn't go with her. I never liked strangers.

She then continued to help me walk and we then entered an old warehouse, not too far from the place of my little accident. It was empty and worn-out, holding only a few cargo boxes. While in the area, I staggered to walk by myself and thanked her profusely. "I'm gonna enjoy this." I heard her say from the behind, her voice oozing with amusement. I choppily turned to ask her whether she lived here or not when out of a sudden, I saw her fist increase in size and I felt an immense blow on my face that later knocked me unconscious. I just hope I didn't break my jaw or else I wouldn't be able to eat.

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><p>I groaned at the pain on my head and groggily opened my eyes. I blinked quickly at the blaring light that was blinding me. I then looked down and I found myself strapped onto a chair, my arms tied behind my back.<p>

"Oh, you're awake." I heard a masculine voice say and I saw his figure approach me.

"Thank you." I said dazedly, but I immediately snapped myself mentally when I realized what I had just said and my current position finally dawned onto me. I felt myself panic and breathe heavily immediately. "What the hell!" I growled and wriggled beneath the straps, but they were too tight.

He laughed in amusement. He was a man probably in his early twenties as well, he had neat, blonde hair that cascaded onto his shoulders, and he was tall. His eyes were large and slightly droopy, while his lips were petite and curvy. "I've never seen you before, what do you want with me?" I asked in desperation as my voice trembled in fear. "If it's money you want, I'm sorry I can't give it to you—my dad's not rich." I explained quickly. It was true, my dad isn't rich and my mom filed a divorce a few years ago. The weird thing was, the separation didn't bother me much.

"It's okay, I won't hurt you." He replied, taking a nearby chair and sitting on it as he faced me. Did he not want money? Maybe-I gasped and I felt myself choke. Were they going to chop up my body parts and sell them?

"What do you want?" I pleaded and I felt myself tear up.

"I'm sorry." He frowned a bit and his feature softened. He wasn't intimidating-looking, but I was scared out of my mind, I felt like crying and yelling, but no one would hear me. Just then, the thought of my team occurred to me. Could they possibly be looking for me? I then started crying and the thought of me crying in front of a stranger, a guy nonetheless, made me weep even more. "Don't cry," he hushed gently, patting my head.

"Please…let me go," I begged between my desperate cries, fixing my gaze on his faltering eyes. "_Please_." My voice cracked as the tears ran wildly across my face.

He closed his eyes and sighed, "I—"

"Sai, that's enough." I heard another proclaim, his daunting voice echoing within the empty warehouse. I looked around to see where he was, my breathing was becoming unstable by the second. Was he the one that brought me here? My heart continued to race while I forced myself to stop crying. And in that moment, behind the creeping, sinister shadows, my eyes then locked onto a pair of the stormiest emerald eyes I've ever seen that caused my heart to stop. It was him.

The wild, countless nightmares that I experienced years ago then persistently bombarded my decaying mind, striking infinitely with no sign of mercy nor stopping. The excruciating torture, the anguish, and the pure _agony_ that I had to go through were draining my last drop of sanity and I felt the monster within me awaken violently. I screamed a piercing roar like I was being burnt alive and the tremendously painful nightmares were causing my tears to run indefinitely, scorching my condemned face. I then felt my lifeless body go limp and accepted my fate that I was going to die in his hands tonight.

"Oh, good. I see you still remember me, my sweet, little kitten."

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><p><strong>AN:** The Downfall is coming to an end and thank you very much for supporting me all the way through! Still, I might add extra chapter(s) if you guys want to :)

_Reaper death:_ :o Ohh, thank you for your help! Okay I will put action as the climax :) I had an author's block for a long time and I was looking for something more interesting, so thank you for your tip :D

_Wings2strong:_ Thank you so much for your support! :D I'm making it end soon though and I'm so happy that you really like my story that I'm blushing so much! Yes, I am planning on putting some action as my major climax c:

_Forever Fanfiction Lover 22:_ :D I can't even begin to thank you with all your everlasting support! Thank you so so MUCH! Thank you for sticking with me after all this time :')

_Rock Renagade:_ *squeals* Thank youu~ Yeah, I didn't want to make it too lovey dovey D: Hopefully the ending won't suck ahahaha!


	14. Meet My Dedication, Inspiration

I felt a slight shake on my shoulder, "wake up, Mao. I can't let you die yet." He mused. I remained in that position for a while, hoping that he'd end it soon. "I see you missed me," he laughed bitterly.

I turned to face him, my face filled with perplexity, "what do you want with me, Keita?" I spat as my fear slowly subsided. If I was going to die, I might as well fight back. "If it's about that time when I—"

He let out a deafening bellow that startled me, "don't be so full of yourself, Mao." His lip twitched in annoyance and his face turned rigid, "it's not all about you." His eyes darkened. And just like that, my fear instantly returned. "You know… I've always hated that part of you."

I took a deep breath to say something but he interrupts me, "you see, I didn't expect to meet you again, my little kitten." My stomach twisted in disgust at the nickname and I found myself grow a bit dizzy. "One night, I was out with a friend in the park. I fell asleep, but I was rudely awoken by a painful blow on my chest; I turned to the person that hit me and…" his voice slowed down as he explained leisurely and then suddenly, his vigorous eyes flickered to meet mine "I found you." We met again? We have never—wait…what?

"I…" I stammered as I struggled to remember. All of a sudden, the wild realization dawned into me and I found myself speechless. Flabbergasted. I closed my eyes; they were stinging at the painful nightmare and I bit my lip hard to try to suppress the agonizing memory. It was that night when Agito and I went to the park after the concert and I threw a rock near the shady man, but I…I never saw anyone else. Maybe his clothes were too dark and I just didn't see because of the lighting. Either way, I felt like stabbing my leg, if—just if—I didn't throw the rock, would I still be in this position?

"Shh," He hushed and placed his index finger over his lips, "don't blame yourself. I was…_glad_, you could say, that I'm able to meet you here again." He smirked.

I forced myself to breathe evenly and gathered the courage I prayed I had—I glared at the Devil himself. This man. This man was the one that made my life a living hell. He was the one that pushed me to insanity, isolation, and finally to depression. He was the man that put thumbtack pins in my shoe when I was getting them out of my locker. He was the man that carved the words "freak", "bitch", "fag", "loser", and "emo" because I listened to rock music into my wooden desk. By the end of the year, my desk was filled up with the hateful words up to the point where you couldn't see the brown wood, merely the harsh carvings that haunted me every second of school. My school was a public school where the teachers didn't care about bullying and as long as no one was killed, to which they'd say, "oh, it's okay. You're teenagers, they'll get over it". I felt something within me snap at the recollection of the nightmare; my mouth opened as I struggled to breathe like a fish out of water while my eyelids continued to flicker. I was losing consciousness fast and— I breathed, "calm down, calm down…" I forced myself; having a panic attack right now was not an option. I dug my nails onto my thighs, "calm down," I hissed. Don't let him get to you-that's what he wants. With all my remaining strength, I tried to lessen the strain on my face and slowly regained my composure. 'That's right…breathe in, breathe out…' my mind instructed.

I'm not going to be scared anymore. I'm not going to cry anymore. I have to keep my promise I made with that certain boy on that day. He was the one that helped me. Inspired me. Saved me. I'm not going to hide anymore.

* * *

><p>I opened my restrained eyes and he stared at me with the most questioning and perplexed eyes that almost seemed innocent. He sat on his chair facing me, propped his face up with his arm and said, "so, you're his girlfriend, huh?" The naive curiosity in his voice made me sick.<p>

"What are you talking about?" I gasped, shifting my weight a bit from the discomfort of the ropes. "The short kid," he replied, "Agito." I felt my chest drop. How does this relate to Agito?

"Keita, I don't—"

"You know, I never liked that brat." He tilted his head to the left, letting the curls on his hair cover his left eye, "that impudent, arrogant little bitch" he spat and I noticed the emerging veins from his arms, "thinks he's better than everyone. Well, I," he paused, "think he needs a lesson." I was utterly confused.

"So you're planning on teaching Agito a lesson by kidnapping me?" I said in a sarcastic tone as my inner strength began rising. Everything will be okay, Mao. You made a promise and this is the new you. Keep it.

"I'm planning on teaching Agito a lessen by kidnapping his _girlfriend_." He corrected with a wave of a finger.

I coughed at the absurdity of his assertion, "you're crazy." I shook my head in disbelief. My fear of him was gradually decreasing after all the times I've spent trying to control it. Was this all about Agito? "This is a misunderstanding, I'm not his girlfriend." Maybe he would let me go after this mistake if I don't make a stupid mistake like provoke him.

"Oh, but you _are_. I was there. You were there. He was there. In the park, you two were going out." Why is he mad though? As far as I know, he hated my guts for no reason at all and made me want to kill myself, then now this? How does Agito relate? He was confusing the hell out of me. "I saw you two-"

"We're not togeth—" I said a bit louder.

All of a sudden, he got up and kicked his chair with such immense force, sending it to explode into tiny fragments all over the warehouse. Stunned, he advanced forward too quickly for my notice and crooked down, his face crashed to meet mine and the abrupt proximity nearly made my heart stop, "**DON'T**," he roared with his alarming, raspy voice that petrified every inch of my body, the veins on his neck burst out intensely as his destructive, terrifying eyes penetrated through mine like a thin layer. His lips twitched as he forced a sweet smile, which only frightened me more. Keita's nature is…_unpredictable_. Stepping back away from me, he took a deep breath and his features became gentle just as if nothing happened, "don't," he repeated, but in a softer tone, "interrupt me." My body was paralyzed at the sudden outburst and I felt myself loss for words, "if you listen to me, you won't get hurt. You don't want to get hurt like the last time, would you?" He cooed and brushed a strand off of my face; I recoiled. I whimpered meekly. "Good." He concluded bitterly at my lack of response and withdrawal. _I'm scared._

* * *

><p><em>I sat in the chaotic classroom with my gaze fixed straight to the blackboard, waiting for the teacher to come. Students were sitting on the desks, throwing paper planes, chasing each other around and drawing inappropriate things on the blackboard as I looked straight, pretending as if nothing was happening. "I can't believe she had the nerve to show her face to school today." I heard the girl to my far left mutter. I shrugged the fact that Keita was staring at me with amusement along with his little posse of friends.<em>

_"I know, right? She's so stupid. She probably wants to get killed by him."_

_"I feel bad for her though." I feel bad for me, too._

_"All right students, go take your seats." The teacher treaded in the classroom with a nasty glare with the fatigue obviously consuming every inch of her energy. "Today, we'll be picking up from where we left off yesterday, which was Energy." She sighed at the sight of the words in the blackboard and began erasing it, "now, go take out your textbooks and somebody tell me a type of energy." The moment she turned her back, I felt a paper ball thrown at the back of my head. And another one. And another._

_Ignoring it, I tried to think of the answer. 'Kinetic', 'potential','…um' I tried to remember while I opened my desk drawer. I jumped when I felt something crawl onto my hand and let out a terrified shrill. Trash, rats, worms, maggots, caterpillars, and centipedes filled my desk drawer as they crawled in delight._

_"What is it, Masao?" The teacher asked in an unamused voice._

_"Th-there are maggots and worms in my desk!" My voice trembled and tears were forming. I have an enormous fear of insects and bugs that crawl._

_"Ha?"_

_"There are—" _

_"I heard what you said! Well? What are you doing? Go take your desk drawer and empty it out." She shook her head and continued writing. "Kids these days. Whoever did it, don't do it again or else you'll get in trouble."_

_I was a fool for thinking she'd help me. Everyone was staring. Everyone was whispering. Seeing as his plan worked perfectly, I heard Keita chuckle. Tears ran wildly across my face from embarrassment and with the overflowing feelings of anger and depression, I ran out of the classroom._

* * *

><p><em>After running for several minutes, I found a nearby bench and I immediately plopped down, weeping like a child. I cried out loud with not a single care in the world. Why? Why is he doing this? Won't anybody help me? I clenched my hair in frustration and growled.<em>

_"Jeez, kid, would you shut up?" I heard a man say. I looked to his direction and found a man with long, white hair, smoking. Trying to stop my cries, I clamped my mouth shut, but it wasn't working effectively. Moments later, from the far left, I could see a little boy that was running and waving furiously towards my direction._

_"I got it! I got it!" He yelled. He stopped and gave a paper bag to the man on my left. He took the bag and ruffled the top of his hair apathetically. Seeing my presence, the boy turned to face me and with a frown, he asked, "are you okay?" I was unsure. Should I? Should I not? Figuring he was a stranger and it wouldn't matter, I decided to tell the truth and shook my head lightly. Luckily, the tears were already beginning to subside. "Crying makes you ugly, so cheer up!" Just like that, I instantly laughed heartily at his reaction. It's been a while since I laughed._

_"Thank you." I smiled slightly._

_"There you go, your smiling face is much prettier." I nodded. "I'm very happy right now so I will give you something so promise me you won't cry anymore, okay?" He took his bracelet off and handed it to me. It was a blue, beaded bracelet with the letter 'A'. "I made it, so it's not very good. It's 'cause the first part of my name means 'autumn' and when you're sad, I want you to look at this bracelet and remember how the first part of my name means 'autumn'. Just like the fallen leaves that symbolize the past, you're reborn and it means a new beginning of life. A new you." He smiles sweetly and wraps it around my wrist, radiating his sweet warmth and tenderness. My eyes suddenly widened at his words and I felt some sort of indescribable "connection" deep within myself. An epiphany. _

_"Stop bothering the girl." The white-haired man puffed the last inch of his cigarette._

_"Sorry," he blushed sheepishly and apologized to the man. He turned to me once again, "it's just that it's my birthday today so I'm really excited and happy because I can finally go out and not be in the—"_

_"That's enough." The man's voice hardened as he threw away his cigarette. "We're going home." He dragged the boy by his arm as he struggled to follow._

_"Oh, umm—see you later, Crying Girl!" He waved goodbye and I tried to wave back, but they were already too far. My arm faltered and I looked at the bracelet, tracing the letter 'A'._

_He's right. I should move on and look towards the brighter future and not dwell on the past. Tomorrow, the world will see a new Masao. This time, it will be different."Thank you." I whispered. _

_On that night, I took a pair of scissors and chopped off my long, black hair. I will be strong. I will be reborn._

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><p><strong>AN:** Okay, I literally have no words to explain how sorry I am for not updating this story for months. It's just that I realized that I had made so many mistakes in the story that I didn't know how to fix them for the longest time. First of all, I realized that this story was ending much sooner than I expected (like, I made it too fast) so there was no development so I really hate it and I can't fix it anymore. Second, I wanted to edit the climax because I missed a vital part but I couldn't fix that anymore too. Third, I missed out so many important parts that I was supposed to include in the story, so I had to SOMEHOW figure out how the later scenes would work without the past ones. All those things gave me a huge headache and the worst writer's block!

If this story is liked, I promise to make a better sequel (this was my first time writing a story, so please bear with my incompetent writing). Since I've gained more confidence, skills, and a couple of criticisms, I am hoping that if I do write a sequel, it's going to be MUCH, MUCH better with funny adventures (I already have some in my head), friendship, and focus more on the romance between Agito X OC, since this story wasn't as good as I planned because I made so many mistakes along the way. This could be like the Part I of their adventure or something haha! Still, I now know where this is going and yeah, if I feel confident and if you guys really want to, I could write a mini sequel. Thank you for reading and supporting me all this time! Your comments and reviews really make all the hours I've spent writing this story worth it :)

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><p><em>Rocky Renagade:<em> *Fan-girl scream* I hope I'm not disappointing you and the other readers though because I basically screwed it up since I forgot to put in a lot of things along the way of the story. I promise to make my writing even better next time!

_Reaperdeath:_ It makes me sad when the protagonist dies, so hopefully Mao will be okay :)

_Forever Fanfiction Lover22:_ You have NO idea how much I'm smiling right now after reading your comment! If I feel more confident and this story is liked by a lot of people, I will be more than happy to write a sequel with more development in terms of romance and comedy *^^*

_D-S-W:_ Hello, Destiny! No worries! Oh my goodness are you serious HAHAHA, I don't know whether to feel glad or scared D: Ohh, I'm so sorry! I didn't know that I wanted to end it as well, it just...happened. It's because I messed it up bad, so I guess I didn't feel like writing it anymore but I might write a Part II since this one was kind of bad; it'll focus more on friendship and romance definitely since there was very little romance here, so maybe like a continuation per se. Thank you! I highly appreciate your criticism since it's important for a writer-especially me-to have a basis in terms of improvement.

_Aya Kruez:_ :O I hope you're okay?! It seems to me like you've been dealing with a lot of things and I REALLY hope that things are getting better D: Yeah...I think it was too fast as well, but the story was kind of messy and I wanted to maybe "restart" if I'm picking up a sequel :)

_FlyHighAndTakeTheSky_: I'm blushing really hard right now, thank you! Maybe I'll ship more characters so they can be OTPs and canon hahaha!

_Whahahahjap:_ Hmm, yes. It's just that I didn't want her to be "too good" and I guess I didn't strike the correct balance between the perfect character and the boring, awkward one. Thank you, I will try to improve on that.

_TheRyomaEchizen_: First of all, HOLY CRAP IF I EVER MEET YOU IN REAL LIFE I WOULD WANT TO BE YOUR FRIEND SO WE CAN TALK ABOUT PRINCE OF TENNIS AND FUJI AND MOMOSHIRO AND TEZUKA AND THE PRINCE OF TENNIS MOVIE AND THEN FAN GIRL ON ECHIZEN. Yeessss, sorry :c I get really excited when something is about Prince of Tennis. There's very little romance in this story, but if I'm writing a sequel, I am definitely going to focus more on the romance!

_Kyoko Hamana:_ Thank you for your review and support :D

_AnnaTheDevil97:_ Oh my goodness, I'm so sorry for not updating it :c I feel like I've failed you, it's just that I had no idea how to fix my mistakes that I've made while writing this story so I had the longest writer's block!

_Senna Bluefire:_ Thank you for your review, I don't know why but it made me laugh and when I read it, I was like "yes, ma'am! I'm going to update it, ma'am!" It was like I had no other choice and my mind just went blank, following your command ahaha!


	15. A Note

First of all, I would like to apologize deeply and genuinely as I have not been updating this story. Yes, I could use the "I was busy" excuse, but it was more than that. I felt no desire and inspiration to write for the longest time and whenever I would feel like writing, I'd think to myself, "what am I gonna even write? I don't know how to carry on this story." Personally, I don't like how my story is going, I messed up in the plot and I don't know how to fix it anymore. Re-reading it over again, I feel really embarrassed at my noob-level of writing with the level of cuss words and the cheesiness of the plot and now the climax. I wish I could re-do them, but I can't-that's why I had no desire to write for the longest time. However, it wasn't until 11:34pm of this day that I thought: "heck, I haven't written in a long time!" So now, half an hour away from my 18th birthday, I am desperate writing the next chapter that will hopefully be published within the next few days. I would like to apologize again about the plot and the wow-you're-so-creative climax that the foolish old me created because I was like "crap, I gotta do something! I gotta write!" that I cannot fix-trying to though as of right now. Luckily, once the fifteenth chapter is published, I know how to continue it until the end so it'll be like a BAM-BAM-BAM! kind of thing; kind of like what will happen to me when my parents see my final IB grades. I am a failure in life. Dishonor on my family.

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><p>As an apology, I would like to publicly embarrass myself in front of you guys by stating these random and painfully-awkward facts about me:<p>

1) I once met this really attractive German-Filipino dude in my internship who goes to UPenn, but grew up in the UK so he developed a British accent. From his chair, he got up and moved to sit right next to me and started talking to me about the project that we were working on. His lovely face was so close to mine that I couldn't help but stare into his eyes and let his thick accent drift through my inattentive ears. My eyes then started wavering and watering BECAUSE he was so attractive and that, ladies and gentlemen, was the first time I literally cried because of someone's utter beauty.

2) My parents are forcing me to have a birthday dinner for once and I pleaded to my friend the exact same words, "No, please don't leave me alone with them! I'm serious they REALLY want me to invite a friend with me to make sure that I actually have friends! Yes, [meet at] the movie area."

3) My very innocent-minded and masculine male friend saw my Iwatobi Free! posters. I could have left it at that, but it's kinda funny if you know what happened afterwards. He then gave me a weird look as he held several posters of the half-naked, muscular, handsome young men that I adore. I defended, "hey, they ACTUALLY swim, okay! It may not look like it, but they actually swim like 90% of the time." His lips said "hey, I'm not judging," but his mind screamed, "get me the hell out of this crazy homosexual-loving girl's house!" Yeahh... I already shipped him with another guy then anyways. Too late _now_, buddy.


	16. Run, Little Rabbit, Run!

The water from the leaking roof trickled indefinitely and echoed within the thin walls of the warehouse.

I sighed, "so, how do you expect him to come here?" I asked, looking up at Keita. He and I had been for over two hours, sitting and waiting for nothing.

"Patience, Mao." He hushed from his solo game of chess. "I sent him a letter, that's all." He dawdled with an uninterested voice, "he should—ha! I got you this time." With a quick slash of his wrist, the chess piece flew across the room and Keita laughed victoriously by himself. He then started tapping his foot quickly and playing with his fingers as he thought of his next move to play against himself. I leaned my head back from the chair with my eyes closed, only to hear whispers and mutters from the crazy man himself.

I wish he would just kill me. I have no significance in this world. If I were to disappear forever, it wouldn't change anyone's life. I looked back at Keita again; his agitated mutters were growing louder. Should I make a run for it? Does he have a weapon? If he does, I can't see it. Where's the exit?

For nearly three hours I have spent in this warehouse, I have managed to loosen up the ropes moderately by wriggling my arms, wrists, and fingers discretely when Keita wasn't looking. It was a honed skill that I learned from camping and my father. Even though the method was tedious and painful, it was effective. And I knew I had no choice.

Ahh, screw it.

Much faster than I realized it, my legs flung, the chair rattling forcefully from behind. Adrenaline was pumping like crazy and my brain wasn't thinking. My legs sprinted harshly and blindly. My ragged steps echoed heavily within the walls of the warehouse, as if it were calling the Devil himself. Snapping his head back, Keita roared and bolted towards me, knocking over the table and his game. "You have made a terrible mistake, Mao." He muttered lowly under his breath, but loud enough for me to hear the malice in his tone. I had to run as fast as I can—to anywhere but here.

I ran towards a white corridor, my breath was becoming uneven and dry every second. I could tell that the trail was a long way to go, but I just prayed that my quivering legs would be able to handle it. At the sense of being chased like a helpless rabbit, the pulse on my neck was hammering violently, ready to burst at any second. Cold sweat began to drip on my face. I struggled to open my stinging eyes, "I'm coming for you, my kitten." I heard him chuckle. 'Please, I don't want to die. I don't want to die!' I screamed on top of my head, squeezing my sight to clear it from the forming tears. The air was thick with my fear—and I knew Keita could sense it. Seeing the door, I desperately turned the knob repeatedly with shaking hands, "come on, come on!" I yelled. After a few seconds later, I finally heard the euphoric sound: _click!_ I quickly turned the knob when, all of a sudden, I felt a ruthless pull on the back of my head that sent my body flying backwards, crashing down to the floor.

At that exact moment, it was as if time slowed down and my vision of escape was crushed instantly without a single trace of mercy-my worst fear came to life. "Did you really think you could escape from me, Mao?" Keita cackled maniacally at my feeble attempt. His chest bobbed as he tried to find his breath; in return, I stared lifelessly at his eyes, but all I could see was nothing but black. I don't care anymore. I'm tired. I'm scared. I felt like crying, but my body wouldn't let me. I was too exhausted, so all I could muster up was a silent whimper… a soft cry for help. I bit my lip and stayed on the floor, surrendered. I tried and I failed; the determination to fight and survive vanished into thin air the moment I felt the sharp thrust on the back of my head. I'm sorry I couldn't be the person you wanted me to be, Dad. I didn't want it to end like this, trust me.

Keita crouches down to the floor, "I'm sorry, Mao, but you did a bad thing." My nose flares at the putrid stench of the cigarette mixed with cheap alcohol in his breath. The nauseating breath latches onto my skin; his breath was plague, devouring every inch of my body alive with darkness. "You are a bad girl, Mao, and do you know what happens to bad girls?" He raised his eyebrow and tilted his head, waiting for my response. Unfortunately for him, I could barely open my fluttering eyes as I was constantly in between consciousness and unconsciousness. 'I don't want to know,' I wanted to say…or did I already say it? Did he hear me? I hope he did. "They get punished," he states and smirks, raising his arm, equipped with a metal pipe, before slashing a merciless blow to my head.

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><p>I groaned lightly as my eyes struggled to open and adjust to the bright light. I was in the same situation as I started before: bound to a chair, but alone in a different area of the warehouse. At a time like this, I had already lost touch with reality and decide to humor myself. I thought: Well, if Keita were to kill me, chop off my body parts, and dispose of them in the ocean, at least I could fulfill my lifelong dream of traveling the world. For example, perhaps my left ear would float down to Indonesia or my kneecap could end up in Sweden! I've always wanted to live in Sweden.<p>

I sighed at my stupidity. 'Wake up, Mao. Focus' I mentally scolded myself. I tugged at the rope harshly, only to regret it a second later. I then angled my left shoulder higher, my fingers and my wrists twisting and turning here and there. It wasn't until several minutes later that I decided to stop because my wrist felt like they were on fire from the scorching friction of the tightly-bound rope.

"Hang in there, Mao." Keita mused, snapping me back to the reality that is my current nightmare. How long had he been sitting on that chair? I didn't notice at all. "You're not here because I hate you. You're here because of Agito and, in my opinion, the one to blame isn't me, but the boy himself.

I scoffed, "of course you hate me. You bullied me for years. You were the one that made my middle school life a living hell, Keita."

He shook his head frivolously like a child, "I don't hate you; I just like watching you suffer." My chest squeezed.

"What?" I spat.

Smiling tightly, he turned his chair around, crossed his right leg over the other, propped his arm on his leg, rested his face on his hand, and leaned forward with widening eyes, "I find satisfaction in other's misery." The frighteningly-calm voice sent shivers to my spine. It felt like someone just punched me in the throat. I had no words to say. I felt sick to my stomach. I felt very uncomfortable. "I had different kinds of wild fun before, but that damn Agito ruined everything."

He inched closer to me, his deranged eyes bulging open, "I…I enjoy seeing faces that are in pain-or-or lament, just… misery in general. I love that. I enjoy seeing their face convulse in pure agony… or their crying faces as I crush their pride after a battle. They make my heart beat so fast! Do you know what I'm saying? I love that. I enjoy that! However, when I was at the very top of my game, that Agito challenged me to a duel—and do you know what he did, Mao? Do you? He cheated! He appeared from behind, sighed, and said, 'hey, don't do it half-assed. I was expecting more from a Class B rider-what a fucking joke,' while the hooks on his jacket jerked me backwards during my jump…so I fell from the sky. I broke both of my legs and my left arm; the damage was irreversible and therapy took years. That was the end of my career as a racer."

I waited for a few more moments to find the words, but I couldn't. Agito…really did all of that? He ended someone's dream in one match. I wanted to say something—anything, but nothing came out.

Keita's face softened—a sight I've never seen before—and his voice became gentle, "the exact moment I hit the hard ground, I found myself staring at the dark sky. 'How long was I flying? How did I look from down here?' I heard the cheers and the howls of the other riders and it hasn't dawned onto me that I couldn't move. I could breathe—it was quick and shallow, but I could do it. I tried to move my arm, but I felt nothing. It was as if my arm were detached from my own body and I felt numb all over. Everything…everything was quiet. You could even say "relaxing", maybe, if only it weren't for the fact that my face started to sweat and it trailed down my face, dirtying it." Keita's voice became smooth and slow towards the end, almost in a whisper; I was afraid I had missed what he said. Keita's shoulders dropped as he sat back desolately on his chair. Tears. They're called "tears", Keita. "The thing is, I didn't really mind breaking my legs nor my arm or even losing my title; I was the most upset about not seeing people's pitiful faces anymore. I miss that sight. I crave it. He took away my only happiness. That Agito…he cheated."

"Keita…" I started in a murmur, when I was suddenly interrupted.

"OI! YOU FUCK!" A wild and deafening voice erupted from the outside door, bursting it open.

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><p><strong>AN:** So much for uploading this chapter on my birthday, June 10. Am I right?


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